Brent Venables says John Mateer has ‘moved on’ from ‘Venmogate’

OU coach Brent Venables and quarterback John Mateer have moved on from ‘Venmogate.’

The fourth-year head coach addressed the local media on Friday following preseason camp and was asked about the story that has made headlines this week in college football. Earlier this week, Mateer’s Venmo transactions went viral after it was discovered he had a couple of transactions in 2022 labeled as “sports gambling.” It reached the point where both Mateer and OU had to release separate statements. Mateer denied the allegations and the school said it had no reason to believe there would be an investigation.

For Venables, he wasn’t too concerned about it.

“In his mind, there was nothing to be seen here,” Venables said. “Thankful for the powers that be that got us to a really good place quickly. But he’s a light-hearted guy. He’s focused and serious when he needs to. I think he recognizes — he’d be the first one to tell you the enormity of maybe what the implications could have been had he not followed the NCAA rules years ago or whatever. Again, I don’t want to — he’s moved on quickly.”

Venables was also asked if that situation provided an opportunity to teach his team.

“We already did that several weeks ago,” Venables said. “But they’re kids in many ways and you’ve got to continue to educate nonstop.”

Mateer and OU released the following statements on Tuesday.

Statement from John Mateer:

“The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false. 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 and 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.”

Statement from OU Athletics:

“OU Athletics provides ongoing education to its student-athletes, coaches, and staff on matters related to sports gambling. The department utilizes ProhiBet, which is an industry-standard service offering comprehensive monitoring of sports gambling activities. OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern. OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.”