If you follow college football, you already know this: the NCAA doesn’t play around when it comes to maintaining the sanctity of the sport. One wrong move, and a player’s season or even career can go up in smoke. That’s why Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer’s name popping up in a sports gambling controversy has hit like a lightning bolt across Sooner Nation. The thing making everyone talk? Screenshots of Mateer’s Venmo transactions from 2022 with “sports gambling” in the description, mentioning the USC vs. UCLA game. Not exactly the type of thing you want floating around when you’re about to lead Brent Venables’ offense into the new season.
To make matters even more intriguing, these transactions date back to Mateer’s freshman year at Washington State, before he transferred to OU. Now that he’s in Norman, all eyes are on him to help the Sooners muscle back into contention. But with legalized betting expanding and the NCAA on a zero-tolerance streak, even the hint of betting activity can become a major distraction. The timing couldn’t be worse as the kickoff is right around the corner, and Oklahoma’s 2025 goals hinge heavily on Mateer keeping the focus on football, not on what’s written in a Venmo note from three years ago.
Mateer clearly knows how serious this looks, so he didn’t dance around it. Instead, he came out swinging with a statement: “The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false. My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends. I have never bet on sports.” But he knows how it looks to the outside world. And that’s why he is not shirking the responsibility. He doubled down on that point, adding, “I understand the seriousness of the matter, but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches, and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.”
— John Mateer (@John_Mateer4) August 12, 2025
Oklahoma’s athletic department had his back, quickly releasing a statement that flexed their ‘we’ve-got-this-covered’ muscle. Their statement read, “OU Athletics provides ongoing education to its student-athletes, coaches, and staff on matters related to sports gambling. The department utilizes Prohibet, which is an industry-standard service offering comprehensive monitoring of sports gambling activities.” Meaning they’ve got systems in place to catch this stuff before it ever becomes an issue.
They even made it clear there’s nothing official brewing right now. “OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern. OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.” Essentially, they’re telling the world that the program is clean, and unless the NCAA says otherwise, this is a nothingburger. And there’s nothing from the NCAA’s side, so the matter is slowly growing out of proportion without having any real meat in between.
Still, as much as Mateer and OU want to move past this, you can’t ignore how quickly these situations can spiral in modern college football. We’ve seen promising seasons get derailed over far less, and with OU ready to hit the SEC era in stride, they can’t afford distractions. John Mateer has to keep his head down, keep the offense humming, and make sure the conversation shifts back to touchdowns instead of transactions. If his denial holds strong and his play matches the hype, this whole gambling chatter could fade into the background, but until then, it’s a subplot everyone is keeping an eye on in Norman.
Fans divided as John Mateer controversy sparks Texas-tied conspiracy theories
The John Mateer gambling chatter has quickly split college football fans into two loud camps: those seeing it as a coordinated smear campaign and those convinced it’s a sign of trouble. For many Sooners faithful, the real culprits are Texas fans trying to rattle Oklahoma’s new leader months before a marquee October 11 showdown. One OU supporter made their accusation crystal clear. His comment read, “I will rephrase this for what you wanted to say king. ‘Yall m*s in Texas are so scared of me that you have made up false claims bc im better than what you expected, and Arch is worse than you expected. The NCAA can’t save you from me, should’ve signed me out of highschool.’” To them, the whole controversy is rooted in Red River rivalry mind games.
Others seem skeptical of Mateer’s defense, side-eyeing his explanation about the Venmo “inside joke” that started the firestorm. A fan mocked the idea outright, writing, “Hilarious inside joke that couldn’t possibly make anybody laugh. It’s almost like it couldn’t have been a joke .” This reaction reflects a belief that the explanation might be just as suspicious as the allegations themselves. Still, mixed into the skepticism is the belief from some OU die‑hards that Texas supporters aren’t just doubting Mateer, they’re afraid of what he could do to their defense. As one fan put it, “We know king Texas fans just terrified of what you’re gonna do to them on Oct. 11.”
Of course, not all the responses were filtered through rivalry pride; some took direct shots at both Mateer and the situation. One opposing fan flat‑out mocked, “Imagine having a big fat liar at QB @OU_Football.” Another leaned into humor, joking, “Give me an absolute lock for next weekend and we’ll let it slide.” This is how the conversation has spun into a mix of legitimate concern, trash talk, and rivalry‑fueled trolling. Whether the allegations fade or not, the reactions prove that in the heat of the OU‑Texas season build‑up, even off‑field rumors get turned into ammunition.
The post John Mateer’s Gambling Statement Divides America as Brent Venables’ Oklahoma Takes Final Call appeared first on EssentiallySports.
