Five Richmond Baseball Players Suspended For Playing Fantasy Football

Five members of the University of Richmond’s baseball team were suspended for something plenty of groups of friends and co-workers participate in every fall.

The Spiders announced Feb. 17 that five players were ineligible to begin the 2017 season with the team after breaking NCAA rules, and it was revealed recently that the infraction was playing fantasy football, per John O’Connor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The players’ activity allegedly was reported directly to the NCAA, which informed Richmond.

NCAA rules ban all gambling across all sports, as detailed below:

?You are not eligible to compete if you knowingly participate in any sports wagering activity that involves intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, a parlay card or any other method employed by organized gambling,? the rule states. ?Examples of sports wagering include, but are not limited to, the use of a bookmaker or parlay card; internet sports wagering; auctions in which bids are placed on teams, individuals or contests; and pools or fantasy leagues in which an entry fee is required.?

Two of the Spiders’ best players, right-handed pitcher Keenan Bartlett and infielder/designated hitter Kurtis Brown, were among those suspended. Baseball America named Bartlett, who went 4-4 with a 4.43 ERA in his sophomore season, the Atlantic 10 Conference’s third-best professional prospect, while Brown batted .342 with 17 doubles and 35 RBIs and was a first-team All-A-10 selection in his junior year.

The five athletes are ineligible to play until the NCAA’s reinstatement process is completed. The Spiders have gone 3-4 so far without them.

Thumbnail photo via Amber Searls/USA TODAY Sports Images