Andrew Buller-Russ
The NFL’s gambling problem just won’t go away. During the 2023 season, several players were disciplined for making sports wagers. Now, a New England Patriots player is facing similar charges due to his actions while in college.
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Kayshon Boutte facing charges for gambling while at LSU
According to WAFB, former LSU receiver and first-year New England Patriots player Kayshon Boutte has been arrested on charges related to making illegal bets online.
The report indicates that ‘some’ of the alleged bets took place when he was starring for the LSU Tigers, yet Boutte never reportedly bet “against himself,” basically, he never ‘threw a game’ or anything like that.
Boutte allegedly created a fraudulent account that suggested he was over the age of 21, where he placed ‘thousands of bets’, including some on LSU football games. These payouts reportedly paid “several hundred thousand dollars’.
After facing a warrant for his arrest, Boutte turned himself into the authorities on charges of computer fraud, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of gaming prohibited for persons under the age of 21. Boutte turned 21 on May 7, which means if he was making bets while in college, they were technically all illegal.
Boutte faced a bond of $6,000 before being released from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Here is the statement the LSU Tigers released while addressing their knowledge of Boutte’s actions.
“In July 2023, LSU was made aware of allegations regarding a former student-athlete’s improper conduct related to sports gambling while enrolled at the University. Since then, we have fully cooperated with all relevant authorities involved in the investigation and will continue to do so. We have no evidence that any other student-athletes participated in these prohibited activities, and we are grateful for measures that detect and discourage sports gambling related misconduct.”
LSU Tigers’ official statement on Kayshon Boutte
Boutte was once a five-star recruit, ranking as the nation’s No. 2 wideout in his class. Yet Boutte didn’t experience the same success we saw from other star LSU wideouts, and ended up falling to the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Patriots made him the 187th pick. Boutte played in five games as a rookie, catching two of seven targets for 19 yards.
