Taylor Mathis got fired from her job as a host and analyst at SuperBook because she went into her sisterβs second-grade classroom in Illinois and talked to them about March Madness as a math exercise.
To be clear, Mathis β a University of Iowa journalism graduate who has worked her way up the ranks after getting her start at a southwestern Nebraska ABC affiliate β did not teach these second-graders how to place a parlay, how to open a sportsbook account, or how to game the bonus system.
Nope. She went into her sisterβs second-grade classroom and talked about the numbers next to the teamβs names.
βI was back in Illinois for my sisterβs baby shower,β Mathis told Sports Handle. βShe asked me to come into her classroom and help her out. Our original plan was to show the class how a scorecard works in baseball, as baseball is what I concentrate on professionally. Then I said, βWhy donβt we do a bracket? Itβs March Madness, and it can be relevant to them because itβs going on now.β She said theyβd love it, especially a group of basketball-crazy boys she has in her class.β
But wait! It gets β¦ not worse at all.
βI went in last Thursday, we did the bracket for an hour and a half,β Mathis recalled. βWe went around in a circle, and each kid had to say their name and an interesting fact. When it came to me and they asked me what my interesting fact was, I told them I was a sports reporter. I didnβt say one word about gambling. I told them I work with athletes and teams. Theyβre in second grade, they thought it was so cool.
βThen we picked teams,β Mathis continued. βThe extent of it was explaining what a 1-seed and a 16-seed means, and 5-seed and a 12-seed, and then we literally went through and picked teams, got to the championship β they picked Alabama β and then I told them Iβd buy them a pizza party.β
It couldβve ended there, but Mathis made the fateful decision to post a picture of herself with the class and the bracket, where angry commenters had β¦ um, nope. No angry commenters. Everyone on social media thought it was cool. Tons of positive responses. Nothing negative.
In fact, Mathis was doing the same thing teachers all over America do βΒ namely, use March Madness as a fun way to teach math.
So talking probability for the NCAA tournament bracket in math class
— Antonio Ochoa (@a_Ochoa62) January 22, 2014
Child grooming?!
But then Mathis got an email from her boss at SuperBook on Saturday morning. She was told SuperBook got an email from a gambling reform group. The group accused Mathis β and, by extension, SuperBook β of β¦ child grooming.
Yes, child grooming.
Mathis was told to delete the tweet and issue an apology. Which she immediately did. Through tears.
In regards to the tweet about teaching kids how to do a bracket: I taught them about filling out a bracket. There wasnt any gambling involved. just trying to do something w kids sports&math. Itβs being viewed as grooming. Iβm sorry if doing that was wrong it wasnβt my intent.
— Taylor Mathis (@TMathSports) March 18, 2023
βI was sobbing,β Mathis said. βI couldn’t believe I was getting accused of grooming. It was fun with math with second-graders.βΒ
Mathis thought this was over.
It wasnβt over.
Later Saturday, she got an email from SuperBookβs compliance department.Β
βIt said I was being let go and I have to delete everything about my relationship with SuperBook and I canβt talk to any employees or interact with anyone at SuperBook until further notice,β Mathis said.
Due to recent events, SuperBook Sports finds it necessary to reaffirm our steadfast commitment to Responsible Gambling and protecting youth.
— SuperBook Sports (@SuperBookSports) March 18, 2023
By the way, not only is Mathisβ sister a teacher, but Mathis’ mom has been teaching kindergarten for 33 years.Β
βI would never in a million years go into a classroom and teach children about gambling,β Mathis said. βItβs ridiculous.β
Gone too far
Whatβs also ridiculous is that she got fired for doing this, and it begs the question: Would she have gotten fired for this last year, before the series of New York Times articles that have sent legislators and regulators into a mouth-foaming frenzy in an effort to one-up themselves in the name of capital-R, capital-G Responsible Gambling?
My gut tells me no. But what do I know?
All I know is Mathis β who, interestingly enough, had already given notice to SuperBook and her last day was supposed to be this Friday (she got a gig at SportsGrid) β did absolutely nothing wrong, and certainly seems to be a casualty of the walking-on-eggshells moment the industry is finding itself in. Sports betting is the current boogeyman, with legislators seeking to limit or outright ban the industry from promoting itself. (Never mind the more insidious lottery that lines the pockets of the states.) Sportsbooks β and all attached businesses β are finding themselves in an unwelcome limelight, and, at least based on this case, might be a little hair-trigger when it comes to self-policing.
Again, this is a story about someone who talked to kids about a basketball tournament and got fired for doing so.
βMy sister didnβt get in trouble, obviously,β Mathis noted. βMy momβs school has a huge bracket up in the hallway. The fourth-grade teachers in my sisterβs school compete with each other in brackets. Itβs everywhere.β
Totally ridiculous. Iβve been filling out brackets since I was a kid, and Iβm also a teacher who thinks itβs fun to have the students fill them out. Keep your head up and donβt let the fun police get to you!
— Jeff Nicol (@JTNIC9) March 18, 2023
Mathis has been sacrificed at the altar of responsible gambling. Thereβs no other way to say it. (Emails to representatives of SuperBook went unreturned.)
βIβm very thankful everyone online was behind me and many people in the industry reached out and have my back,β she said.
She can count one more over here.