Legendary Cleveland broadcaster Bernie Kosar was fired on Sunday after the Browns found out he placed a $19,000 bet on the team.
Kosar placed his bet last week with the Tipico Sportsbook app as Ohio’s new law legalizing sports gambling took effect this month, according to TMZ.
The radio broadcaster, who played with the Browns from 1985 to 1993, made no effort to hide his bet and even told fans that if he won, he’d donate the winnings to charity.
Kosar became one of the very first Ohio residents to place a sports bet and was even part of the publicity for the sportsbook.
Since the Browns did not win the game, Kosar lost his $19K, but it also turned out he lost his radio job once the team found out he was betting on games.
“Earlier this week we notified Bernie that per league policy, we were required to remove him from our pregame radio coverage for the season finale after he violated the NFL gambling policy by placing a bet on an NFL game,” the team said on Sunday.
“We understand what Bernie means to this community and our history, but as team contracted personnel hired to provide content on our media platforms, his bet was a violation of NFL rules and we must adhere to all NFL policy.”
Clearly, Kosar didn’t know he was doing anything wrong. And he jumped to his Twitter account to say, “I am shocked & disappointed. Brown & Orange is my life … Go #Browns.”
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