Tennessee coach Rick Barnes makes joke about players betting on games

In a press conference, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes joked, “sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games” before quickly saying “erase that.”

The 71-year-old began laughing shortly after making the comment, along with members of the press who can be heard in the background. Immediately after, he said: “I shouldn’t say that, but you know…erase that…” before putting his head in his hands.

“I’m just wondering what’s happening. I mean, cos I know we’re too good of players to do that…” He then apologized and said “I shouldn’t have said that…” The joke came as the coach was talking about some bad passes that had taken place

This was an all-timer by Rick Barnes

I asked him about the team’s heightened focus and it ends with him talking about certain questionable bad passes.

“Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games.” pic.twitter.com/1Q5Au3008b

— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) February 1, 2026

Tennessee coach betting joke comes at a time when organizations are grappling with betting concerns

While the coach was only joking, and the quote led to a light hearted moment full of laughs at a press conference, the NCAA has faced a number of betting scandals in recent times.

Just a few weeks ago, a case was unsealed in federal court in Philadelphia, where prosecutors alleged that 26 people were involved in a long-running scheme that included bribery tied to sporting events, wire fraud, conspiracy, and helping others carry out the alleged crimes. However, these are only allegations.

In a statement, NCAA President Charlie Baker said: “Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports.”

Today's news shines a light on issues in the sports betting ecosystem. We have to protect our athletes and our games. pic.twitter.com/P9bKeORRqr

— Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) January 15, 2026

He also said that when he took over as president three years ago, one of the first things he did was step up the organization’s response to sports betting.

It was also only in November of last year when six basketball student athletes were found to have violated NCAA betting rules, leading to expulsion from their schools.

Featured Image: Screenshot from X video by Paige Dauer

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