COLUMN: The Price Of Victory & Its Consequences

*This is an opinion column*

TUSCALOOSA, AL — There's a lot to be said about Bear Bryant's classic quote: "The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards."

I had those words framed on the wall in my bathroom as a kid and have lived much of my professional life using that insight as a compass. But when considering the first half of such a quote, it's hard not to view it without a touch of irony, especially when considering what consequences come on the flip-side of such an iconic phrase.

It took University of Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne less than a workweek to fire Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon after the stories began circulating.

We all saw them.

And not just any slow-day headlines, like it seemed with the lawsuit filed by a former Tide player against Bohannon, current interim head coach Jason Jackson and a team trainer for allegedly denying him medical care when he was injured and instead referring him to a sports psychologist.

No, that was a minor inconvenience when recalling the menagerie of felonious activity within the Crimson Tide athletics orbit in 2023. Instead, Bohannon's firing seems to have had more to do with a sin that's long existed in baseball and other sports, but one that carries the worst stigma of all once one is found guilty — gambling.

Indeed, a pair of suspicious wagers last Friday prompted Ohio gambling regulators to issue a directive ordering all sports betting cease on college baseball games involving the Crimson Tide program.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

Even as I write this column, Kansas has just joined the list of states, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to follow Ohio in ordering sportsbooks to prohibit any gambling on Alabama baseball. I've lost count at this point and Nick Kelly of the Tuscaloosa News is doing important work keeping track of this domino effect.

We don't have sports betting in Alabama — or much else in the way of gambling that isn't regulated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians — so the nuances are important to explain in the Yellowhammer State.

In the latest development, ESPN Sports Gambling Reporter David Purdum — who has been the best source of breaking news on this story — wrote "sportsbook surveillance video indicated that the person who placed the bets was communicating with Bohannon at the time."

Video. Freakin'. Evidence.

Let that sink in.

As one Twitter follower pointed out: "Was the guy standing there with a picture of Bohannon displayed on his phone?"

It's a funny musing sure, but it does make one wonder exactly what was captured on film that proved so conclusive.

And, if there is that level of intelligence on the matter, one has to wonder exactly what agencies or investigative bodies are involved here?

Stop and think about it ...

Who was on the other end of the communications with Bohannon?

What was at stake?

How did the deal go down?

What led to it?

What role did Bohannon play?

Since we don't know the other party, what if they were a federal informant?

Could this mean a much more widespread probe?

And how in the hell is this all happening at such a bad time?

Before the latest developments, though, earlier Thursday morning the bombshell news hit the wire that Byrne had fired Bohannon, with several sources indicating to Patch after the fact that the two met Wednesday regarding the issue — a day before Alabama's home series with Vanderbilt.

In the first 24 hours of the controversy, some in the Tide community blamed the initial controversy on glitches in the sports betting system relating to the lineups or a simple misunderstanding. Mere coincidence.

How could Bohannon possibly be involved?

And while this reporter admittedly knows very little about sports betting or gambling in general, it must be said that I've never been one to believe in coincidences ... especially when all indicators and background sources show that we are just now setting out on this journey in the latest controversial chapter for Alabama athletics.

However, it must be noted that Byrne was halfway praised for his quick move to cut Bohannon loose Thursday, with Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey saying in a statement:

"The University of Alabama has taken swift action after information about baseball sports wagering activity was questioned by industry regulators. Ensuring the integrity of athletic competition is our highest priority, and for that purpose the SEC monitors gambling activity through its relationship with US Integrity and has done so since 2018. There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition. We will remain in communication with the University throughout its ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time."

For what it's worth, U.S. Integrity is a digital sports wagering monitoring company that is partnered with the SEC and tasked with overseeing any sports betting regarding member institutions. And, keep in mind, this could all just as likely be fodder to keep the ink-stained wretches like your narrator at bay.

Still, it's been tough sledding for Byrne over the last six months. He's worked to weather high-impact controversies few in athletics administration are equipped for.

And, after all, how could an athletic director effectively monitor the supposed betting habits of his baseball coach? A baseball coach making an annual base salary of $250,000.

Even more so, what classes are taught in sports business or kinesiology to prepare someone for responding to a capital murder case involving a student-athlete as a potential suspect? Or a gambling controversy?

Byrne's present position is a far-cry from wearing branded clothing and shaking the hands of patrons as they enter Bryant-Denny Stadium on a football game day. I certainly don't envy him.

Yet, we've gone from a capital murder case in January involving a former Alabama basketball player to a potential FBI gambling probe involving Alabama's baseball coach at present. Not to mention the other local criminal controversies sprinkled in between ... Tony Mitchell, Jaykwon Walton, Matt Self.

But of the controversies set apart by the baseball gambling debacle, a stark contrast can be seen in the response from UA Athletics in the wake of the fatal shooting on Jan. 15 that resulted in the death of 23-year-old James Harris and capital murder charges for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and Maryland native Michael Davis.

Amid the uncertainty in the immediate aftermath of a fatal shooting, Byrne spoke only to ESPN's Rece Davis — an Alabama alum — and snubbed local media other than statements issued via email. This drew the ire of some in the community and local press due to the gravity of the situation, but most moved past it.

While still declining to take to the podium after firing Bohannon Thursday morning, the view of many behind the scenes is that Byrne was much more deliberate in his decision to relieve Bohannon of coaching duties once the evidence became clear.

When compared to a capital murder case, where seconds turn to years in making sense of evidence, putting any evidence of illegal gambling into context is much more simple for those with immediate access to it, especially given digital paper trails left by even the savviest of gamblers.

It's numbers, it's connections — A-to-Z stuff.

But let's not forget, just days ago, Alabama Deputy Director of Athletics, Compliance and Support Services Matthew Travis Self was arrested and charged with third-degree domestic violence.

Patch has been informed by sources that Self is still employed by the university, but to the social media zeitgeist, the word compliance in his title is the point of focus. It's become the story regarding his brief chapter in the controversy.

As it should be.

And from a public relations standpoint, we as a community are bobbing below the surface and no longer treading water.

It's one thing after another and the outside pressure is suffocating. It's these external factors, too, that could ultimately prove the determining factor from an administrative standpoint.

Again, for good reason.

Many in the public have taken Byrne's quick decision, coupled with the fact that Alabama plans to field its entire team against Vanderbilt Thursday, to mean that no players were involved in any illicit gambling activity and the incident could be isolated to Bohannon.

This would prove a best-case scenario for the athletic department in an investigation that is almost certainly on the radar of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), given the accusations. It also tracks with the handling of Brandon Miller by UA Athletics, as Miller was named during court proceedings for the Jan. 15 shooting but never viewed as a suspect by investigators.

With respect to the baseball controversy, we're talking about the difference between NCAA sanctions and federal prison.

And, to think, if players were immediately found to be involved, the entire season prior to and henceforth would come into question. But, I admit there's still so much we don't know in a situation that will no doubt get worse before it gets any better.

Yes, the scope of the controversy has yet to be fully understood and that becomes the most difficult part when trying to parcel the truth from message board lunacy.

Instead, developments seem to be coming at the top of every hour, boiling over just long enough to get trending, before the next kernel of news floats to the surface.

And, as we've seen with other controversies at the Capstone over the last six months, more questions linger than answers:

Who was Bohannon in contact with? This is my obsession at the moment. Some sources, after all, have indicated to Patch that this individual might be a local and it could tie loose ends together to find out who that individual is.

OTHER QUESTIONS:

• Who else in the UA administration knew about this?
• What does the video evidence show that implicates Bohannon?
• How was it determined that no players were involved?
• Has a federal criminal investigation been opened into this incident?
• How far out and up does this go?
• Who should be held accountable?

As I took too many words to write in a column last week, we've entered weird territory in Tuscaloosa regarding UA Athletics: A capital murder investigation; prospective athletes and administrators, alike, charged for ranging crimes; and now, a former head baseball coach that could very well end up the focus of an interstate criminal investigation by the FBI.

It makes this reporter think back to that 2021 story where the Atlantic claimed former University of Alabama President Robert E. Witt used Disney World as a model for how to grow the school's profile.

To put it simply, T-Town didn't have the local revenue (I.E. qualified in-state students) to make things float, so the powers that be opted to design the entire University of Alabama experience to appeal to a wider clientele.

Bells. Whistles. Astronomical tuition. Exclusivity. Make your own rules.

In the last 24 hours for this reporter, I've seen a trailer for HBO's "Bama Rush" documentary that is sure to distort the perception of Tuscaloosa more than its predecessors, along with a gambling controversy involving the UA baseball program that could wind up being the biggest story in baseball since 1919 Black Sox.

If it was indeed the high-top circus UA wanted when Dr. Witt re-imagined the Capstone and its purview that bleeds over into my hometown of Tuscaloosa, then no one can blame the regrettable menagerie of clownish cartoon villains welcomed in.

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and opinion columnist. He is also the founder and field editor of Tuscaloosa Patch. The opinions expressed in this column are in no way a reflect of our parent company or sponsors. Email news tips to ryan.phillips@patch.com.