MLB clears Jarred Cosart of betting on baseball
After concluding its investigation, Major League Baseball has determined Miami Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart never bet on baseball.
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MLB released a statement with its findings Friday.
Major League Baseball has completed its investigation of into Jarred Cosart’s possible connection to sports-related gambling. The investigation did not reveal any evidence to suggest that Cosart, who fully cooperated with the investigation, bet on baseball. Cosart has received an undisclosed fine for violations of Major League Rule 21(d)(3) that were revealed during the investigation. Major League Rule 21(d)(3) prohibits players from placing bets will illegal book makers, or agents for illegal book makers. This rule is strictly enforced and applies to gambling with illegal bookmakers on any sport or event.
Cosart was fined for his involvement with illegal bookmakers, but it was determined that he placed bets on other sports. Shortly after MLB’s statement was released, Cosart responded with his own, via the Houston Chronicle.
The investigation began after it was revealed Cosart had reached out for gambling advice on Twitter. Cosart had allegedly sent direct messages asking for advice, but those were made public. Direct messages are intended to be private, but the individual on the other end decided to release them. Cosart deleted his Twitter account shortly after those messages were released.
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This ruling was probably a relief for both MLB and Cosart. While he’ll still be fined for placing illegal bets, Cosart will still be allowed to play baseball. MLB gets to flex its muscle with a fine, but avoids another major gambling scandal. Given the wide range of outcomes when the story first broke, this could have been a lot worse.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
