The pressure to produce deer hunting content proved to be more than Matt Jennings, host of The Game hunting show, could handle.
Jennings was sentenced this week to five years of probation and forever banned from hunting and fishing in Kansas after illegally hunting game, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court documents, Jennings, 35, of Bowdon, Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal taking of a whitetail deer in interstate commerce.
On November 11, 2022, Jennings killed an antlered deer near Florence, Kansas. However, his deer tag did not allow him to take a deer in this part of the state.
So what did he do next?
The following day, he drove to Oklahoma where he fraudulently registered the buck using an Oklahoma electronic tag.
But it gets worse.
On November 19, 2022, Jennings killed another buck in Kansas. And although he had a valid tag for that area of Kansas, killing a second buck in the same year is a violation of state law. Therefore, he illegally exceeded the bag limit of one antlered deer per season.
A federal judge ordered Jennings to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, pay a $10,000 fine and forfeit the antlers from the buck he illegally hunted.
During his five-year probation, Jennings is prohibited from guiding, hunting, trapping, fishing or being with anyone engaged in those activities in Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota.
Agencies involved in the case include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, with assistance provided by the U.S. Secret Service, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Missouri Department of Conservation, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.
So what’s The Game hunting show all about? A quick scroll through the show’s website and Matt Jennings’ mission and you’ll find a closer look.
“The Game is a dark, in your face, more serious look at what makes a hunter tick. It’s about pushing one’s self to the breaking point, and then looking back on the experience to learn from it. Matt Jennings takes you to the frontlines weekly to destinations in your backyard or worlds away. Either way, the intensity and drive this man has for the hunt will draw you to him and to what crazy things he will do next.”
That last line obviously did not age well. Ironically, it gets worse.
FIVE SECONDS OF GLORY – “These are words that The Game WARRIOR Nation lives by. Your life can change in five seconds. It all comes down to being prepared, and living in the moment when you see your quarry and you decide, I have to make the shot. Matt lives to bring you heart stopping animal encounters, epic kill shots and cinematography that is breathtaking and second to none. Matt is always perceived as someone who pushes the limits. His goal is to bring the viewers into the platform with him, and set the bar higher for outdoor television. The Game does just that!”
Sadly, Matt Jennings has pushed the limit a bit too far. And as they say, play stupid games, get stupid prizes.
For now, it appears The Game is over.
