Tom Brands on Iowa sports betting investigation: ‘Basic liberties were infringed upon’

IOWA CITY — Iowa men’s wrestling coach Tom Brands said Wednesday that “basic liberties were infringed upon” in the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s sports gambling probe of University of Iowa and Iowa State University athletes.

The investigation affected the Hawkeyes’ men’s wrestling lineup lineup, including five returning starters from a year ago who were suspended for violating NCAA rules but not charged.

“I really don’t have initial thoughts,” Brands said. “The way that it’s described, basic liberties were infringed upon. Shouldn’t happen in this country. Shouldn’t happen in the state of Iowa.”

Van Plumb, a Des Moines lawyer representing two Iowa State football players, said in a motion filed this week Iowa investigators used geofencing software on a public university’s campus, calling it a “warrantless search” that invaded student-athletes’ personal privacy. The allegations followed a deposition last week by DCI Special Agent Brian Sanger.

Attorney Christopher Sandy, who represents Iowa State wrestler Paniro Johnson, filed a motion that stated DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwick said in a deposition last week he felt misled by supervisors about the target of the investigation. The motion states Ludwick concluded the DCI conducted an illegal search of Iowa student athletes and others.

“You want a big story now,” said Brands, expressing frustration with media at the press conference. “Where was the urgency to find out the truth when this thing went down and didn’t make sense? That’s what I would say to everybody in this room. Where was the urgency? Now, it comes out (and) now you want reaction.”

Questions about the investigation have been asked since the beginning, but the DCI and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission declined comment.

Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser said he doesn’t minimize or condone the athletes’ mistake, but they served harsh penalties from the investigation. He said the process negated any rights of the athletes. Dresser said what happened to the seniors at Iowa was an unnecessary consequence.

“Man, I’ve had to bite my tongue for a long time,” Dresser said at his weekly availability Tuesday. “I’ve almost chewed it off. I’m not surprised by what’s come out in the last 24 hours. I knew from Day 1 when my athletes called me in early May this thing was a mess and mismanaged and I knew it was mishandled. I’m glad it’s coming to light now.

“I hope all of these athletes at Iowa and Iowa State take the State of Iowa to the cleaners.”

Iowa’s Cullan Schriever was suspended by the NCAA for part of the season, stemming from the sports wagering probe. He returned to action Dec. 8 and is 6-1 this season, sharing time at 133 pounds. Schriever is expected to wrestle again this week on Iowa’s road trip to Illinois on Friday and Northwestern on Sunday.

“I did what I had to do,” Schriever said. “I have a match Friday and a match Sunday.

“Everything else is kind of on the back burner. I’m focused on that. I don’t really care about the other stuff. I’ve dealt with it. Now, I’m getting ready for Illinois.”

Brands said his message has remained constant from the beginning of the investigation. He has urged wrestlers who were suspended to stay ready because they don’t know what might happen, even as multiple appeals were denied by the NCAA.

“I’ll just be a real patient guy and see what comes of it,” Brands said. “I know one thing. We have a lot of guys upstairs that are ready to go because of what happened and we’ve got guys that were impacted, and are still being impacted, that are still ready to go because of the way we talked to them.

“You never know what will happen. Be ready. (Tony) Cassioppi, be ready. Nelson Brands, be ready. Cobe Siebrecht, be ready.”

The Gazette’s Erin Jordan contributed to this report.

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