After everyone else said what they wanted to on social media, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer finally spoke for himself on Tuesday afternoon.
Mateer released a statement via X denying sports betting allegations after a post on the same app went viral Monday night that accused Mateer of gambling on sports in 2022 and included screenshots from his Venmo transactions, which now seem to appear to be from Mateer's actual Venmo account.
Student-athletes betting on college sports is against NCAA rules.
Oklahoma QB John Mateer releases statement about sports gambling allegations
"The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false," Mateer wrote in the statement. "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.
"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."
People can put whatever they want as the title of Venmo transactions. The screenshots from Mateer's Venmo account had transactions labeled "Sports Gambling (UCLA vs. USC)" and "Sports gambling" that were sent to Richard Roaten. According to Mateer, those titles were just an inside joke, not the two actually paying for bets on games.
Mateer's name was trending on X on Monday night after an account named Bryan Aguada, whose bio claims they are an insider for Deadspin and senior journalist for Valley News Live, posted the accusations and screenshots. However, KREF's Blake Gamble has since reported that someone with that name has never worked for Vally News Live and the profile picture was actually a headshot of former Northeastern hockey player Zach Aston-Reese.
There were no reliable reports of the situation until Tuesday morning, when SoonerScoop's George Stoia, per On3, reported that OU was aware of the situation and Mateer denied the allegations, which his new statement reinforced.
These accusations will likely be looked into more, even if it's just figuring out who started the mess, but as now, it seems like a disgruntled rival fan stirring up chaos and managing to create a national story.
— John Mateer (@John_Mateer4) August 12, 2025
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