EPIC Global Solutions has signed up former New York Yankees player Jake Sanford as its latest athlete representative.
The gambling harm firm has recruited several former sports stars to support its mission to educate audiences about the potential risks of gambling-related harm.
Sanford, a Canadian player from Nova Scotia, never made an MLB appearance. EPIC said that he suffered from a gambling addiction, which included owing several debtors and receiving death threats directed at his parents. He currently plays with the Ottawa Titans in the Frontier League.
As well as continuing to play, he will speak to audiences on EPIC’s behalf to fit around his ongoing playing commitments.
Sanford has previously explained how a $3,000 slot machine win at a Mississippi casino during part a road trip with Western Kentucky University was likely the catalyst for his later betting troubles. EPIC said his experience of gambling as a student-athlete will likely resonate with audiences.
“I want to be there to help people so that they don’t get to the point where I got to,” Sanford said. “It just started out like entertainment, but then I obviously got signed and I had a little bit more money to play with, so at first you think ‘I can lose this and I’ll be OK’, but those days piled on and on, and then next thing you know, it’s all gone.
“I did mess up early in my life, but I’m still young, so I’m trying to get back to where I need to be and I want to help people along the way.”
Sanford joins the likes of former pro basketball point guard Stevin ‘Hedake’ Smith and ex-Premier League and international soccer star Dominic Matteo as EPIC reps.
EPIC makes helping student-athletes a priority
As well as pro sports partners in the likes of MLB and the MLS Players Association, EPIC has shown commitment to educating and helping college-level athletes to avoid gambling issues.
The company has an educational partnership with the NCAA and earlier this year secured a deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to provide the Power Five conference with educational resources on gambling harm.
EPIC and the ACC have also teamed up to deliver gambling harm presentations at Student-Athlete Advisory Committee meetings, which include two student-athletes from each member institution and one Student-Athlete Development Administrator.
EPIC sees collaborating with Sanford as a way to extend the assistance it offers to student-athletes.
“As any sports player will tell you, there’s no better person to learn from than someone who has been there and done it themselves,” said VP of Partnerships Teresa Fiore. “So, for us, Jake is the equivalent of an experienced coach sharing their knowledge with their team.
“What’s more, he is of similar age range to many of our audiences, so his story is especially relatable.”
