Iran’s Bargaining Chips and The Cost of Sports Betting For Student Athletes

Summary

Podcast Summary: Here's the Scoop – "Iran’s Bargaining Chips and The Cost of Sports Betting For Student Athletes"

Host: Yasmin Vossoughian
Podcast: Here's the Scoop from NBC News
Date: April 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of “Here’s the Scoop” is split into two major segments:

1. An urgent breakdown of the U.S.–Iran crisis after an American F-15 was downed over Iran, with reporting from NBC’s foreign correspondent Raf Sanchez. The discussion explores Iran’s strategic leverage, the reality behind official U.S. rhetoric, and the international response to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
2. An in-depth conversation about the rise of legalized sports betting and its profound impact on student athletes, including mental health challenges and the growing threat of abuse and match-fixing—featuring Clint Hunkabrau, Managing Director of NCAA Administrative Services.

Bite-sized headlines on jobs, Pentagon personnel issues, and high-profile lawsuits round out the episode.

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Segment 1: The U.S.–Iran Crisis and the Strait of Hormuz

Opening Discussion: The Downed F-15 and Its Geopolitical Implications

[00:00–03:44]

• The episode opens with breaking news: A U.S. F-15 was shot down inside Iran. One pilot has been rescued; the other is missing.
• Iran reportedly offered $60,000 rewards to local tribes for capturing the American pilots alive.
• Raf Sanchez: “The Strait of Hormuz obviously is their trump card to play, but if they had an American pilot in their captivity, that would be a major, major bit of leverage for them.” (00:00)

Key Points:

• Capturing a U.S. pilot would provide Iran with a major bargaining chip for any future negotiations.
• Despite U.S. and President Trump’s claims of having “nearly eliminated” the Iranian military, Iran remains capable of significant attacks, including a strike on a Kuwaiti desalination plant critical to the nation's water supply.
• Raf Sanchez: “They clearly had been degraded, but they are still very much able to lash out at their neighbors. And as we learn today, they are still a threat to American aircraft in the skies over Iran.” (03:44)

The Reality of the Strait of Hormuz

[04:37–08:34]

• International leaders (about 40 countries) held a virtual meeting about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after President Trump declared the U.S. has enough oil and urged other countries to “get your own.”
• Raf Sanchez: “The Europeans are totally on the sidelines here. They weren’t consulted before the U.S. and Israel began this attack… They’re not major players here.” (05:18)
• Sanctions are being discussed, but appear ineffective amid the ongoing war and instability.

Shipping Realities: Iran’s Emergent Control

• Pre-war: ~110 ships/day transited the strait. Now: Fewer than 10/day, most hugging Iran’s southern coast through what’s being called the “Tehran Toll Booth.”
• Ships are reportedly being charged up to $2M to pass, with Iran signaling it wants to maintain this leverage postwar.
• Memorable Quote:
  “One of the most astonishing lines from during his primetime address was he said the Strait of Hormuz will just open up naturally when the war is finished. Like it was some kind of plant that's going to open up its petals to the sunlight or something.” (07:24, Raf Sanchez)

The Gulf States’ Dilemma and Ship Passage

[08:34–10:47]

• Gulf states view Iranian control over the strait as a “nightmare scenario,” but feel powerless as U.S. and Israel fail to restore normal passage.
• Iranians seem to be selectively allowing ships through, possibly favoring partners like China, or those linked to Iran.
• Raf Sanchez: “Who is being able to pass through seems to be a reflection of, on the one hand, Iranian diplomacy and, on the other hand, kind of this ad hoc system being run by the Revolutionary Guard.” (09:57)

Looking Ahead: What’s Next?

[10:53–11:51]

• Gulf states are closely monitoring U.S. responses and Iran’s capacity for ongoing drone and missile attacks.
• Negotiations may soon move to Pakistan, with attention on whether Iran will seek serious talks.

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Segment 2: The Rise of Sports Betting and Its Cost to Student Athletes

March Madness and Betting Harassment

[13:54–15:32]

• Legal bets on college basketball tournaments are projected to reach $3.3B this year—a 54% increase in three years.
• With wagering up, so is online and in-person abuse towards student athletes, especially concerning prop bets on individual performances.

First-Hand Insights: NCAA’s Clint Hunkabrau

[15:32–17:22]

• Clint Hunkabrau: “About 20% of the abuse is sports betting related...individuals who have lost a prop bet on an athlete's performance...are reaching out and targeting our student athletes.” (15:32)
• Most abuse occurs online (90% on social media), with fans and angry betters sending direct messages to student athletes.

Impact on Mental Health:

• Athletes face scrutiny and abuse even after winning, with messages like “‘Couldn’t you get one more rebound, couldn’t you get five more points?’...There’s negative implications for them with social media abuse.” (16:53, Hunkabrau)

Measures and Reform

[17:23–18:44]

• The NCAA is advocating to ban or restrict prop bets, which allow gambling on individual performances, as they facilitate abuse and potential match-fixing.
• Over half of states with legalized betting have eliminated player-specific prop bets.

Quote from NCAA President’s Letter:
“To better protect student athletes, game officials, and competitions, state laws and regulations must be amended to remove the types of bets that we know are being manipulated... harassment, solicitation of insider information and spot fixing.” (18:06, Read by Yasmin Vossoughian)

• Prop bets increase the risk of “spot-fixing,” where parts of a match can be manipulated.

Monitoring and Integrity

[19:48–20:37]

• Clint outlines NCAA’s proactive measures: integrity monitoring services flag suspicious betting trends across 23,000 competitions per year.
• Despite high-profile indictments, Hunkabrau feels “really good about where we’re at currently” but recognizes the need for vigilance as both legalized betting and prediction markets grow.

NIL Rights and Their Effect

[21:49–23:13]

• Since 2021, athletes can earn money via NIL (name, image, likeness) deals.
• Hunkabrau notes this is “potentially both a blessing and a curse”: while providing legitimate income could deter illicit bets, it could also give athletes more disposable income to gamble.

Bracket Talk—The Lighter Side

[23:13–23:34]

• Yasmin: “So before I let you go, I do have to ask you, though, Clint, do you fill out a bracket for March Madness?”
• Clint Hunkabrau: “Nope. We are not allowed to fill out brackets, so unfortunately I don’t. But I watch all the games with great joy and just love this time of year, seeing the excellence of our student athletes.” (23:19–23:34)

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Quick Headlines and Notable Moments

[26:24–29:30]

• Jobs Report: 178,000 jobs added in March, but impacts from the war with Iran aren’t fully reflected.
• Pentagon Controversy: Concerns about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth targeting promotions based on race, gender, or political alignment.
• Blake Lively Lawsuit: Most claims dismissed in her suit against co-star Justin Baldoni.
• "LA’s Most Tasteful Burglar": A high-end furniture thief’s story, including a humorous twist—
  “I have a dating profile photo of him sitting on my sofa that he stole...and he's like ‘things I can't live without: Daily moisturizer,’ and he's like sitting on my sofa.” (29:20, Raf Sanchez and Clint Hunkabrau)

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Memorable Quotes

• Raf Sanchez: “The Strait of Hormuz obviously is their trump card to play, but if they had an American pilot in their captivity, that would be a major, major bit of leverage for them.” (00:00)
• Yasmin Vossoughian: “One of the most astonishing lines from during his primetime address was...like it was some kind of plant that's going to open up its petals to the sunlight or something.” (07:24, paraphrasing Trump)
• Clint Hunkabrau: “What we've seen is about 20% of the abuse is sports betting related. So oftentimes it's individuals who have lost a prop bet on an athlete's performance and they're looking for somebody to blame.” (15:32)
• Clint Hunkabrau: “About 90% of the abuse they face is on social media platforms. Instead of more in person type abuse.” (16:11)
• Yasmin Vossoughian: “Even having this positive experience of winning the game, there’s negative implications for them with social media abuse.” (16:53)
• Clint Hunkabrau: “To the extent that you're making nil compensation and other revenue sharing, that ultimately decreases the risk that you may be willing to accept money from an outside individual in some sort of nefarious betting scheme.” (22:16)

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Timestamps – Key Segments

• 00:00 – Raf Sanchez on Iran’s leverage
• 01:44 – News recap and the downed F-15
• 03:44 – Iran’s ongoing military capabilities
• 05:18 – International response/European limitations
• 06:31 – The “Tehran Toll Booth” and oil market impact
• 08:34 – Gulf States’ concerns
• 09:57 – Who’s getting through the Strait of Hormuz?
• 13:54 – March Madness, sports betting rise & athlete abuse
• 15:32 – NCAA on harassment statistics
• 17:23 – Reform: Prop bet bans and mental health
• 18:44 – Match-fixing and integrity risks
• 19:48 – Monitoring and policing betting
• 21:49 – NIL’s impact on integrity
• 23:13 – March Madness brackets wrap-up
• 26:24 – News headlines (jobs, Pentagon, lawsuits, and the “tasteful burglar”)

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Takeaways

• Iran is leveraging the situation around the Strait of Hormuz and the recent downing of a U.S. F-15 to maximize its negotiating power, with significant implications for global oil and regional security.
• Despite U.S. officials’ public statements, Iran retains meaningful military capability and the ability to disrupt critical infrastructure in the region.
• Meanwhile, the rise in legalized sports betting has created new mental health and integrity issues for student athletes, with much abuse tied to online prop bets.
• The NCAA is focusing on banning such bets and increasing support systems, but the rapid growth of sports betting remains a threat to the spirit of collegiate athletics.

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This episode weaves together real-time geopolitical developments with the human side of America’s sports and youth culture, making clear the complexity, risks, and far-reaching impact of both fronts.

Transcript

[Raf Sanchez]

The Strait of Hormuz obviously is their trump card to play, but if they had an American pilot in their captivity, that would be a major, major bit of leverage for them.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Hey, everybody. Welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Dasugian. On the show today, college basketball fans are going to be watching their prop bets and their brackets for the weekend's NCAA's Final Four. But what toll is the rise of gambling t taking on student athletes? We're going to get into that. Plus why the surprisingly positive jobs report comes with a caveat and what questions officials are raising about some recent personnel decisions at the Pentagon. Up first, though, we are starting with the war in Iran. A US official says one F15 crew member has been rescued and the search for a second is currently underway after a fighter jet went down over Iran. The two seater aircraft appears to have been shot down by the Iranian military. The news is coming on the heels of a true social post by President Trump showing the destruction of an Iranian bridge that connects Tehran and Kad with a warning that the real campaign on Iranian infrastructure has not even started. And the Iranian foreign minister is speaking out, saying that these strikes are not going to move the needle of their defiance. Overnight we saw more strikes in Israel and reported hits on a Kuwaiti oil refinery. President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say they have things under control. But the reality on the ground is starting to make people wonder if Iran's military is actually sturdier than the United States is letting on. So I want to bring in now NBC News foreign correspondent RAF Sanchez, who's on the ground for us in Qatar. Hey raf.

[Raf Sanchez]

Hey, Asma.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Let's talk about the breaking news, which is the downing of this F15 fighter jet that went down inside of Iran. Two pilots inside, what do we know?

[Raf Sanchez]

So this is obviously a developing situation, but we know that this aircraft seems to have gone down in southern Iran in a pretty mountainous area where there are a lot of nomadic tribes. Iranian authorities immediately putting the word out that it was an enormous priority for them to capture these two pilots and they started offering these tribes rewards of around $60,000 to anyone who was able to bring the pilots in. They said capturing them al is the priority. Now as we're recording, the US Military has safely recovered one of those pilots, according to U.S. officials. We don't know the fate of the other one, but the fact that the Iranians are so eager to get these pilots alive indicates how valuable they would be as potential bargaining chip in upcoming negotiations. The Strait of Hormuz, obviously, is their trump card to play, but if they had an American pilot in their captivity, that that would be a major, major bit of leverage for them.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

This stands in stark contrast to the messages that we've been getting from both the Pentagon and the White House as well, which is that they have blown the Iranian military to smithereens. Right. There's really not much left. In the speech on Wednesday night that President Trump gave, he said that the Iranian military threat had been nearly eliminated. Yesterday, the president posted a video of a bridge being blown up, and I mentioned warning that the United States has not even started destroying what is left in Iran. But if you couple that with the news of what we're hearing with this F15 fighter jet and the continued strikes from the Iranians, is there a sense that the military is not as incapacitated as the Pentagon is making them out to be?

[Raf Sanchez]

Definitely. A big part of President Trump's primetime address was talking up the destruction that's been wrought on the Iranian military over the last couple of weeks. They clearly had been degraded, but they are still very much able to lash out at their neighbors. And as we learn today, they are still a threat to American aircraft in the skies over Iran. Just today, the Iranians hitting a desalination plant in Kuwait. That is one of those critical, critical facilities that turns salt water into drinking water. Countries here in the Gulf totally dependent on those. Qatar, where I AM right now, 99% of its drinking water comes from desalination plants. And so the Iranians still have the ability to hit targets in the region. As much as the Pentagon and the president like to say that they are all but smashed.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

So on Thursday, 40 or so countries met virtually to discuss, as you mentioned, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. And they want to stop, quote, unquote, Iran from holding the global economy hostage, as the UK Put it, that included also European countries, but also Gulf countries like the UAE at Bahrain as well. It came after this primetime address from the president in which he said, essentially, and I'm paraphrasing here, listen, we have our own oil. You guys have to go and get your own, right? To ensure that that oil is making it through the waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. What, if anything, came out of the meeting of these European leaders along with these Gulf states?

[Raf Sanchez]

Really, very little, Yasmin. The Europeans are totally on the sidelines here. They weren't consulted before the US And Israel began this attack. They're not involved in the war. The president is berating them occasionally, but they're not major players here. The UK Organized this virtual summit in London, and they discussed ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. They're talking about imposing new sanctions on the Iranians. The reality is, given the pressure Iran is under in terms of US And Israeli airstrikes and the fact that they are still not caving, it really seems very, very unlikely that new sanctions from the Europeans are going to move the need.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

So where are we with the Strait of Hormuz? Because on the one hand, you have the President, as I mentioned, saying on Wednesday, go get your own oil, figure it out. Because we have our own. And by we, the President means the United States. And then on the other hand, he has said with a little more time, and I'm quoting here, the US can easily open the Hormuz Strait, take the oil, and make a fortune. He said that this morning. Given all that, where are we with the Strait of Hormuz? Where are we with the passage of, of any type of ships through the Strait of Hormuz as well?

[Raf Sanchez]

So let's just start with the reality check. When the President says the US Is a net exporter of oil, and so it doesn't matter to us what happens in the Strait of Hormuz, that's just not how the oil markets work. This is a global market. Scarcity anywhere in the world drives up prices everywhere in the world. And that is why Americans are paying $4 plus at the gas pump right now. And if this continues, those prices are going to go higher. It simply is not the case that the US Is immune to in terms of explaining where we are now with the Strait of Hormuz, it's kind of helpful to explain where we were before the war. Before the war, about 110 ships going through every day, and they're sailing through the middle of the strait through Omani waters and then through Iranian waters. Now, you have most days, fewer than 10 ships are passing through, right? So 10% or less of the daily traffic. And the overwhelming majority of those, from what we can see in maritime data, are taking this new route where they are being forced into Iran's territorial waters to hug Iran's southern coast, forced to sail through a series of islands controlled by the Revolutionary Guard. And this system is being called the Tehran Toll Booth. In some cases, these ships are being charged $2 million to pass through. And the Iranians are indicating that they want to keep this system of control over the strait in place even after the war. One of the most astonishing lines from during his primetime address was he said the Strait of Hormuz will just open up naturally when the war is finished. Like it was some kind of plant that's going to open up its petals to the sunlight or something. Nothing of what we are seeing in the region indicates that is going to happen. The Iranians are learning the level of control that they can exert over the Strait, and they are indicating that they want to, at minimum, keep that level of control as a bargaining chip. And at maximum, it's potentially something that they want to hold onto for a long time going forward.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Where are the Gulf countries on this idea that Iran wants to control the Strait of Hormuz even after the war ends? Because the Strait of Hormuz does not just hug Iranian land, it also hugs the Gulf countries.

[Raf Sanchez]

Yeah, I mean, it would be a total non starter for the Gulf countries if Iran was in control of which ships can come and go, which oil, which gas is allowed out. That is kind of a nightmare scenario for them. And in that sense, you know, you know, that would be a much worse situation than it was before the war started. They do not want to see the Iranians in control of the Strait of Hormuz, but they are watching as the US And Israel militarily don't seem able to get the Strait back open again. And so it is looking more and more like this is a question that's going to have to be settled at the negotiating table.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Is there a sense of what ships are actually able to get through the Strait of Hormuz? And I ask that because, for instance, I know that a French ship, for instance, was able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Are the Iranians being discerning about who they're allowing through, even if they are in fact paying? French President Emmanuel Macron has been in touch with the Iranians during this war. Many of the European countries have said they will not help the United States because they did not start this war. Is that at all being taken into account, according to our reporting, as to who is being able to pass through?

[Raf Sanchez]

Yeah, who is being able to pass through seems to be a reflection of, on the one hand, Iranian diplomacy and on the other hand, kind of this ad hoc system being run by the Revolution Revolutionary Guard? So we've seen some ships linked to China going through. China is a major partner for the Iranians. We've seen some ships going to Pakistan going through. Pakistan has offered to be a mediator in talks between Iran and the U.S. most of the ships, according to Lloyd's list, which is a maritime data firm, seem to be either carrying Iranian oil out of the strait or carrying goods to Iran. In most of them have a nexus to Iran. And there at this point doesn't seem to be a totally clear pattern about which ships are being charged this $2 million toll and which are being allowed to go without.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

What are you watching for, especially from the Gulf states when it comes to the next few days in this war?

[Raf Sanchez]

So, first of all, we're all watching the White House. When President Trump gave his 9pm Primetime address, it was 4am Local time here in the Gulf. And I was texting with an official in the Gulf and they had set their alarm and woke up to watch the president's speech to see if they could clue about what was going to happen. They told me this was a sentiment you hear also in the US that this was basically just a rehash of what they had been seeing from the president's truth social posts. We will be watching to see whether Iran can keep up its rate of drone and missile fire. That will be a key factor. If they aren't able to do that, then their ability to maintain leverage at the negotiating table goes down. We'll be watching to see which ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and we will also be watching for any signs from the Iranian regime that they are serious about negotiating and whether these talks move to Pakistan or not.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Raf Sanchez, thank you.

[Raf Sanchez]

Thank you.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

We're going to take a very quick break, but when we come back with all this money pouring in with sports betting, how is it actually affecting student athletes? That's after a break. And but while you're waiting, do us a favor. Subscribe to Here's a scoop and review and leave a comment. It would really help our algorithm. We'll be right back.

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[Yasmin Dasguian]

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[Yasmin Dasguian]

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[Yasmin Dasguian]

And we are back with Here's a scoop from NBC News. All right, so it might be April 3, but March Madness is still alive and well. The final Four teams face off this weekend in both the men and women's NCAA basketball tournament. And then by Monday night, the winners are going to be crowned. So throughout this tournament, college basketball fans have had their fun as well, studying the bracketology of it all, watching dozens of games and maybe even placing some bets. In fact, just ahead of the games, the American Gambling association estimated that fans would legally wager get this $3.3 billion on the Division 1 women's and men's basketball tournaments this year. That is a 54% increase over the past three years. But as the bets have been increasing, so has the harassment. A lot of players have reported being badgered by fans and classmates who are putting money on their performances. So how has this affected the emotional well being of college athletes and what steps is the NCAA taking to help them? For that, I want to bring in Clint Hunkabrau, managing director of NCAA Administrative Services. Hi, Clint.

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Hi. Good to be with you.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

It's great to have you. I want to understand what these athletes are actually experiencing here because you have these student athletes that are reporting abuse, especially when it comes to betting. Right. According to a survey conducted by the NCAA back in February, Division 1 men's basketball players reported the highest rates of betting related abuse, with one in three athletes saying they direct blame by fans for betting losses. What kind of abuse are we actually talking about here?

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Yeah, it's been really an unfortunate trend that we've seen with just the proliferation of legalized sports betting in America that student athletes more than ever are being targeted for abuse. What we've seen is about 20% of the abuse is sports betting related. So oftentimes it's individuals who have lost a prop bet on an athlete's performance and their looking for something, somebody to blame. So unfortunately they're reaching out and targeting our student athletes.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Are these classmates that are hazing them? Are they roommates? Are there people that don't know them? Who's doing this and how are they? How are they doing it?

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Yeah, I think to some extent we see it happening on campus where student athletes are in classes with students or they're going to the dining hall or wherever and hearing some of this chatter. But more so, I think you unfortunately just have the folks who are hiding behind a keyboard that are on social media platforms from X to Instagram to Venmo reaching out to student athletes. A lot of it happens via direct message and angry betters harassing them on those platforms. In fact, what we've seen is about 90% of the abuse they face is on social media platforms. Instead of more in person type abuse.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

You say that it's having an impact on their mental health. How is that presenting?

[Clint Hunkabrau]

You know, nobody within their day to day work or life wants to have their performance scrutinized by others. What we're hearing is that they could win the game and feel like they had a really good performance on the game. But unfortunately they may still receive abuse online from individuals who are saying, couldn't you get one more rebound? Couldn't you get five more points, whatever it may be? So even having this positive experience of winning the game, there's negative implications for them with social media abuse.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

What's the solution?

[Clint Hunkabrau]

You know, I don't think there's easy solutions necessarily. One of the things that we've been really trying to do is get rid of what we call prop bets within the regulated sports betting space. So bets that focus on the individual performance of an athlete. Because in our view that really puts a target on their back for abuse and harassment. We've already seen over half the states in America with legalized sports betting get rid of those player specific prop bets. And I hope the other half of the states follow. We're trying to do a lot more with our schools on providing mental health resources and other other harm prevention resources to be able to better support their student athletes on campus as well.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

We have a letter from the NCAA president to the state gambling commission saying quote, to better protect student athletes, game officials and competitions, state laws and regulations must be amended to remove the types of bets that we know are being manipulated. And the NCAA goes on to say the three factors as to why are harassment, solicitation of insider information and spot fixing. Can you talk about how it is that these bets feasibly could be manipulated.

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Yeah, I think, you know, more traditional betting markets focus on the overall outcome of the competition. Who's going to win or lose, how many points are they going win or lose by? When you get into these individualized prop bets, it's focused on one aspect of the competition. You know, just one individual competitor's performance or even just a part of the contest, how many points in the first half versus the second half, and things of that nature. So the more you break different betting markets down into these sort of microscopic chunks, the easier it gets to be able to fix just a part of a contest instead of a whole contest. And so that's, you know, the concerns that we have. From an integrity standpoint, from an insider information standpoint, like you shared, when you look at these microscopic bets, that information essentially becomes currency. And then like I said previously, just when you attach individual athletes names to a betting market, you're really just putting a target on their back for angry bettors to reach out and harass them.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

All of the stuff that we've been talking about here ties into kind of the integrity of, of the game and maintaining the integrity of all of these games. I know back in January, more than two dozen people were charged with trying to fix NCAA and overseas basketball games, including more than a dozen current and former players. In the past year, you've had to ban numerous players who were involved in other point shaving schemes. In November, though, the NCAA voted to ban athletes and athletic department staff from betting on professional sports, reversing course on a rule change that would have permitted those bets. How are you monitoring all of this and are these indictments just kind of the tip of the iceberg? Especially as you see the industry growing when it comes to betting, not shrinking?

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Yeah. So as far as the federal indictments that came out, we work with integrity monitoring services that really monitor every collegiate competition that has betting markets around it. And that's over 23,000 competitions per year. And so what an integrity monitoring service will do for us is basically look for suspicious betting activity, strange line movements that are unexplainable, or somebody that normally bets $100 a contest is now betting $100,000 in a contest. And so that really puts us in a proactive position to be able to identify those issues. As far as the tip of the iceberg piece, we actually feel really good about where we're at currently. Certainly there's been those situations that were all manifested out of regular season basketball competitions last basketball year, but so Far for this current year, certainly for March Madness, there's been no concerns that we've identified from an integrity standpoint, but certainly with just this explosion of legalized sports betting, as well as the growth in prediction markets that we're seeing currently, it's something that we're continuing to be extra vigilant and monitoring.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Back in 2021, the NCAA started allowing college athletes to earn money with NIL rights, which are name, image, and likeness. They can now get paid. Right. For endorsements, for social media deals, for autographs, for appearances, so on and so forth.

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Yep.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

I'm wondering if these nil deals have minimized concerns about athletes trying to make money through. Through gambling. Right. Because they're now able to make money in other ways.

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Yeah. Yeah. I think from our vantage point, they're potentially both a blessing and a curse when you look at it from a integrity and gambling standpoint. To your point, on the positive side of it, I think to the extent that you're making nil compensation and other revenue sharing, that ultimately decreases the risk that you may be willing to accept money from an outside individual in some sort of nefarious betting scheme. So I think it's a positive from that vantage point, I think there's another school of thought that by having more money, you have more disposable income, and so it could potentially make athletes more susceptible to engage in gambling in problematic ways. So I think it's still too early to tell. We don't have any data that suggests one way or the other, but we continue to monitor that and try to prevent both outcomes from happening at the end of the day.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

So before I let you go, I do have to ask you, though, Clint, do you fill out a bracket for March Madness?

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Nope. We are not allowed to fill out brackets, so unfortunately I don't. But I watch all the games with great joy and just love this time of year, seeing the excellent of our student athletes on both the men's and women's side.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

Clint Hunkarow, thank you.

[Clint Hunkabrau]

Thank you so much.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

So the final Four kicks off tonight with the women's matchups. UCLA facing off against Texas, while South Carolina takes on Yukon. Yukon also is still dancing. On the men's side, they're going to play Illinois. Michigan takes on Arizona. The women are going to crown their winner on Sunday. The men are going to be wrapping up on Monday. All right, we're going to take a very quick break, and when we are back, a judge dismissed most of the claims in Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. Which ones can head to trial? That's next in the headline.

[Willie Geist]

Tell me if this is your experience. Every day we navigate the headlines, but too often many are tethered to the opinions on the far left or the far right. I get it. We live in a polarized world. But there is a middle ground. There is a place for independent thinking where many of us stand together. Consider my podcast your ticket out of your media silo. I'm Michael Smarkanish. I'm here to bring you a balanced news presentation on the biggest issues of the day, every day. Refreshingly independent politics. That's what you'll get on the Smerconish podcast. You can find it on Sirius XM or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

This week on Meet the Press, the rising risks of the war with Iran. We dig into the latest as the conflict enters its second month. Plus chaos at the airports as TSA and safety concerns grow. Is there any relief in sight? This week on Meet the Press? Listen to the full episode now wherever you get your podcast.

[Unknown Podcast Host]

For years, Gone south has been a podcast about crime in the American South. But for our new season, we're widening the lens. Through deeply reported, narrative driven stories and conversations with journalists, historians, musicians and people who've lived these stories firsthand. We're digging into the myths, scandals and power structures that still shape the south and in a lot of ways, the country itself. From re examining the cultural meaning of the Alamo to tracing the family history of Alex Murdoch, to investigating the federal indictment of New Orleans former mayor, each episode stands alone. But together they paint a picture of what this region really is and how it came to be. With 40 new episodes released weekly, Gone south is a show for people who want to understand how history lingers and why it still matters. Now follow and listen to gone South Season 5 An Odyssey podcast, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. The US added 178,000 jobs in March, blowing past expectations. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly from 4.4% 4% to 4.3%, with gains in health care, construction, transportation and warehousing. But these numbers come with a caveat. Since the surveys for the report were completed by March 12, experts are warning that the report does not show the full impact of the war with Iran on the job market, so we could see revisions in future reports. Jobs report estimates from January and February were also revised. Together, they show that U.S. payrolls fell by a net 7,000 over those two months. U.S. officials say there are concerns in the military and White House that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is targeting senior officers because of their race and their gender or because he sees them as aligned with officials or policies of the Biden administration. NBC News is reporting that Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military. And earlier this week he ousted Army's chief of staff, General Randy George. George previously served as senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration and has been seen as an ally to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, with whom Hegseth has had a tense relationship. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment, but after NBC News's reporting was published, a spokesman denied the claims and called the Defense Department a criminal, quote, meritocracy, which he said was, quote, apolitical and unbiased. A federal judge has dismissed most of the claims in Blake Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against fellow actor Justin Baldoni. He directed and co starred with Lively in the film adaptation of It Ends With Us. The Judge tossed out 10 of Lively's claims relating to harassment, defamation and conspiracy, but he allowed three other claims to proceed to breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation. Valdoni has denied Lively's allegations. Their trial is scheduled to begin in May. And finally, we have a wild story from our digital Docs team. It's about a guy who's been dubbed LA's most tasteful burglar. And that's because he's accused of stealing really high end collectible mid century modern furniture. Over time he has gotten his hands on some really pricey items. Items including Eames chairs, a rare set of Pierre Polan Elyse floor lamps, each worth, get this $10,000. And the one that really blows my mind. It is a 21 piece sofa worth $58,000. Who knew a sofa cost that much? By the way, his targets vintage furniture dealers, influencers and other tastemakers. They've all banded together to expose him, even getting tips from the public.

[Raf Sanchez]

I have a dating profile photo of

[Clint Hunkabrau]

him sitting on my sofa that he saw stole and it's like things I

[Raf Sanchez]

can't live without Daily moisturizer.

[Clint Hunkabrau]

And he's like sitting on my sofa.

[Yasmin Dasguian]

So he went to jail for some of this. But the story does not end there. There is a whole lot more twists and turns to this case. You can watch the full documentary on the NBC News app I promise you you will thank me. That is going to do it for us. And here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We'll be back on Monday with whatever the weekend may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid [e-mail] we'll see you Monday.

[Willie Geist]

Every wireless service comes with a cost, right?

[Raf Sanchez]

Wrong.

[Willie Geist]

The TextNow app lets you do your thing for free. Get real talk, real text and 5G data for must have apps with no monthly bill. Need more data? Add it right from the app. Done. Go back to free. No long term contracts, no pressure, no surprises. Just wireless that works around you. TextNow, we've got your back. Download TextNow in your app Store today. Wireless plans require the purchase of a sim card. Visit textnow.com for terms and conditions.