Earlier today, the Wisconsin Badgers, along with the rest of all NCAA basketball programs, saw a federal indictment released that named 22 players, who allegedly took money from bettors to purposefully play poorly and fix games/over-under bets.
While no current Badgers players were listed, Elijah Gray, who transferred to Wisconsin from Temple last year, was. And apparently, head coach Greg Gard and the program caught wind that Gray was involved in dubious activity, as he was released from the program in October.
He never played a game for Wisconsin.
Former Wisconsin Badgers transfer Elijah Gray named in federal indictment
At the time of his release from the program, a statement from the university said that his dismissal was “related to events preceding his enrollment at UW-Madison” and that “privacy laws limit the university’s ability to share more at this time.”
Apparently, the allegations against Gray came before his time at Temple, too, as the indictment states:
“Defendent (Jalen) Smith offered Gray a bribe payment of approximately $10,000 or $15,000 to underperform in an influence an upcoming Fordham basketball game. Gray agreed to participate in this point-shaving scheme.”
The game in question saw Gray, who was averaging 10 points at the time, score just three points and commit three turnovers in 15 minutes of play.
Former Fordham F Elijah Gray named in NCAA gambling indictments:
Gray and an unknown teammate were bribed to underperform and ensure Fordham didn’t cover a +3.5 spread vs Duquesne —fixers put $195,000 on DUQ to beat Fordham.
Gray was dismissed from Wisconsin earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/EE99DddkeU
— Joe Henry (@joehenry_4) January 15, 2026
Gray has not been charged in the indictment, but is clearly accused of participating in the scheme. After the game, he allegedly texted one bettor, “I tried,” to which the bettor responded, “You did your job for sure.”
This certainly is not a good look for Gray, but Wisconsin should be applauded for taking action as soon as they got wind that he was involved in something illegal prior to joining their program.
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