Iowa Athletes File Lawsuit, Allege Rights Were Violated in Gambling Investigation

Twenty-six current and former collegiate athletes who played in the state of Iowa filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the state and its Division of Criminal Investigation of its Department of Public Safety, alleging that their civil rights were violated.

According to ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and Adam Rittenberg, the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa alleges that investigators illegally used geolocation software to track the athletes’ online betting accounts.

Of the 26 plaintiffs, 16 are from the University of Iowa, nine are from Iowa State University and one is from a community college. Among them are 13 football players, six wrestlers and seven baseball or basketball players.

Sixteen of the athletes had criminal charges brought against them based on the information found by GeoComply. Twelve of them pleaded guilty to underage gambling since the legal gambling age in Iowa is 21, and four of them were charged with felony identity theft, although those cases were dismissed in March.

Per KCCI, the charged athletes included Iowa football players Aaron Blom, Arland Bruce IV, Harry Bracy and Jack Johnson; Iowa State football players Hunter Dekkers, Enyi Uwazurike, Dodge Sauser, DeShawn Hanika, Isaiah Lee, Jake Remsburg and Jirehl Brock; Iowa State basketball player Jeremiah Williams; Iowa basketball player Ahron Ulis; Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen; and Iowa State wrestler Paniro Johnson.

While 10 of the plaintiffs were not criminally charged, the lawsuit states that they were subjected to “loss of playing time, the threat of NCAA or NFL sanctions and/or damage to their athletic career” as a result of the investigation, per ESPN.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Matt Boles, Adam Witosky and Van Plumb, said the following regarding the lawsuit in a statement: “The lives of these young men have been disrupted and altered in way[s] still yet to be fully seen. It is our hope that through the civil action we can help these young men put their lives back on track and gain a measure of justice for the violation of their rights.”

Investigators said they had warrants to search the athletes’ cellphones, but the lawsuit argues that the warrants were “invalid and unconstitutional.”

Those who sign up for sports betting companies, such as DraftKings and FanDuel, “consent to share their location data with GeoComply, who in turn provides this data back to the companies,” and in the written policies for DraftKings and FanDuel, it is stated that the companies can provide “personally identifying information” to law enforcement.

NCAA rules state that athletes cannot bet on any sport sponsored by the NCAA.

Attorneys are seeking actual and punitive damages for each of the 26 plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit.