Arizona State LB Coach Antonio Pierce Under Fire For Promoting Betting Site

Antonio Pierce has offered the latest evidence that “watch what you post” really is the best advice of the millennium.

In September, the former NFL linebacker started a partnership with SportsBettingDime.com, a website that provides information on sports betting and links to online sportsbooks. Since Week 6, Pierce has provided against-the spread NFL picks in his “Out-Pick a Pro” contest.

And there was nothing wrong with any of that — until Arizona State on Saturday hired Pierce to serve as linebackers coach alongside new head coach Herm Edwards.

Pierce hadn’t posted about the contest since Dec. 8, but slipped up Friday morning when he tweeted a new video about fans potentially winning tickets to the 2018 Pro Bowl. The internet reacted accordingly, and Pierce quickly deleted the tweet.

Here’s a video about the contest, posted by Sports Betting Dime in October:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=YxN-RT0c_5k

So, how much trouble is Pierce in with his new employer?

“While we have confirmed that this does not constitute an NCAA violation, we also note that Antonio will no longer be engaged in this type of arrangement as an NCAA institution football coach going forward,” the ASU athletics department said in a statement to AZCentral.com.

The fact that Pierce wasn’t actually gambling, but rather providing advice on gambling, may explain why ASU says he didn’t break any rules.

From NCAA Bylaw 10.3: “(Athletics department personnel) shall not knowingly participate in sports wagering activities or provide information to individuals involved in or associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition”

Letter of the law notwithstanding, associating yourself with gambling in any way while working in the NCAA obviously is not a good look. Furthermore, revealing such a relationship to the world via Twitter is, well, pretty dumb.