Matt Jennings made his name chasing big bucks on camera — now he’s banned from hunting in Kansas for life.
The 35-year-old host of the TV show “The Game” just pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally taking two antlered whitetails in Kansas back in 2022.
And not only is he banned from ever hunting or fishing in Kansas again, he’s also on five years of probation, barred from hunting in eight other states, slapped with $25,000 in fines and restitution, and forced to forfeit the trophy antlers.
Here’s what went down.
According to court documents, Jennings illegally killed a buck near Florence, Kansas, on Nov. 11, 2022. Problem is, his tag didn’t cover that part of the state.
So what did he do? Drove to Oklahoma and fraudulently tagged the deer there. Classic poacher move.
Then — just eight days later — he shot another antlered buck near Wakeeney. This time, his tag was legit for the area, but Kansas law clearly limits hunters to one antlered deer per season.
Jennings shot two. That’s a major violation, especially for someone who claims to represent ethical hunting on national TV.
To make matters worse, both illegal hunts ended up featured on episodes of “The Game.”
The feds weren’t amused.
A federal judge ordered Jennings to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, plus a $10,000 fine. He’ll also have to surrender the antlers from both bucks.
During his five-year probation, Jennings can’t hunt, fish, trap, or guide — and he’s banned from tagging along with anyone doing so in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Kansas wildlife officers, with help from law enforcement agencies in six other states. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster prosecuted the case.
Bottom line: if you’re going to preach fair chase and conservation on camera, don’t break the law off-camera.
Ethical hunters don’t bend the rules — and they sure don’t try to cover it up in post-production.
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