The Oklahoma Sooners are apparently aware of the viral claim that new quarterback John Mateer gambled on sports using Venmo for transactions. The allegations took X by storm on Monday night.
SoonerScoop's George Stoia reported Tuesday morning that "Oklahoma is aware of John Mateer's Venmo transactions and is handling it," per On3. The post from On3, which owns SoonerScoop, also said, "Mateer made it clear to the school that he has never gambled."
ESPN's Pete Thamel also reported the same later. According to Thamel, "OU officials are looking into the situation after finding out about it late last night and plan to be proactive and exhaust every avenue."
Oklahoma reportedly handling John Mateer viral sports gambling accusations
Bryan Aguada, whose bio claims he's an insider for Deadspin and senior journalist for Valley News Live, had a post go viral on X on Monday night. The post claimed that Mateer gambled on sports in 2022 and included screenshots of apparent transactions from Mateer's Venmo that said "Sports Gambling (UCLA vs. USC)" and "Sports gambling." It's against NCAA rules for student-athletes to gamble on college events.
John Mateer has deleted all of his Venmo transactions. https://t.co/5qY3mofKLh pic.twitter.com/DMZLQwbgJy
— Bryan Aguada (@Bryan_Aguada) August 12, 2025
The date of the alleged transactions was Nov. 20, 2022, when Mateer was a redshirting freshman at Washington State. He appeared in one game that season. Mateer transferred to OU this winter after leading the FBS with 44 total touchdowns last season with the Cougars.
Other than the initial viral post, there haven't been any legitimate reports about the accusations. Stoia's report was the first of any kind on the situation from a reliable source. Mateer or OU also haven't released anything as of writing Tuesday morning. Blake Gamble of KREF also reported that he spoke with someone from Valley News Live, where Bryan Aguada claimed to work, and the company employee was not familiar with the name.
🚨BREAKING🚨
— Blake Gamble (@Blakes_Takes) August 12, 2025
Bryan Aguada claims to be the Senior Journalist at @ValleyNewsLive - however, after speaking with someone who's been with publication for 2 years. They aren't familiar with a "Bryan Aguada" #Sooners #CFB https://t.co/cRYXLeAHGm pic.twitter.com/hWNCn77OyA
Despite it all just being accusations so far, the situation still became the biggest news in sports Monday night and into Tuesday morning.
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