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When sports betting became legal at the federal level in 2018 — and states slowly followed suit one by one — we knew sports would never be the same.
We knew money was going to go up for teams, leagues, and sportsbooks alike from betting sponsorships. We knew viewing interest would follow. Hell, we knew some players would begin betting and possibly create issues of integrity.
But few would’ve predicted that athletes would begin to get harassed for betting outcomes. That’s starting to become an obvious side effect. The latest incident of bettor abuse involves Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne.
Bettors Target Thorne On Venmo
Auburn football has fallen on hard times, let’s just say that. They are dead last in the new-look SEC with an abysmal 2-4 record. Worse, they are 0-3 inside the conference. So if anything, NCAA bettors are used to fading them by now.
But in the second game of the season, this might’ve been less obvious. The Tigers weren’t expected to compete for a championship, but there was some hope. Welp, that hope was dashed when they lost 21-14 at home to a bad California team. The quarterback, whether fair or not, was very responsible for the defeat. Thorne threw four interceptions in the game.
After the fiasco, Thorne talked to The Next Round podcast. Thorne said he was being hit with Venmo requests — to pay up, not to receive money back.
“They’re definitely not sending cash. It’s funny. When they lose money, they want their money back. But when they win money on a parlay, no one’s ever sent me any of the money.”
In the interview, Thomas was a good sport about it. Don’t think he was necessarily frustrated over it. He said it more as a joke (plus betting is illegal in the state of Alabama where he plays). However, the NCAA doesn’t take the matter of athlete abuse over gambling as a laughing issue.
NCAA Study Reveals Athlete Abuse Is Common
Earlier this year in May, the NCAA released findings of a study they conducted on this very issue. The result? One in three top athletes receives abusive messages from people with a “betting interest.”
This study revolved around the March Madness basketball tournaments — the flagship event in college sports. During March’s tournaments (both men’s and women’s), over 540 abusive messages — including death threats — were sent to college basketball players and personnel (coaches and referees) due to betting. A staggering number for a group of players mostly ranging from 18 to 22 years old.
Partnering with AI company Signify, the NCAA looked at 1,000 Division I basketball players, 64 teams, 200+ coaches, and 120 game officials during March Madness. They found 4,000 posts or comments that were confirmed to be abusive or threatening. Interestingly, women’s basketball players faced about three times more threats than men. Around 15-25 percent of the abuse directed at players, coaches, and officials was related to betting, per the study.
“Individuals who harass athletes, amateur or professional, over a sports bet should not be tolerated,” Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, told ESPN in a statement.
NCAA’s Efforts To Ban Player Props Has Merit
We don’t always speak about the NCAA kindly. For years, they took advantage of college athletes by not paying them a nickel. Now with the introduction of NIL, they’ve opened Pandora’s box inside of the sport. But while the NCAA is usually reactive to issues, to their credit, they’ve long been proactive about betting.
Since early into legal sports betting’s existence, the NCAA has advocated for states to ban player props on college athletes. They believe this could lead to “fixing” since college athletes are more easy to sway with money than million-dollar athletes. The NCAA doesn’t have final say in the matter — ultimately, it’s on individual states to factor it into their legislation. However, many states have acted on it.
There’s a litany of states that don’t allow college player props. Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland, and Vermont come to mind, but there’s more. States are even changing their rules due to the issue. For instance, betting in Illinois was updated during the summer to include a ban on college player props bets. So the issue does have some legs across the country.
Even Pro Athletes Are Getting Used To Abuse From Players With Money Interest
We could list a litany of players that’ve dealt with verbal abuse from bettors and fans alike. However, this story is new and worth bringing up.
David Montgomery has become a leading running back for the Detroit Lions. Only 27 years old, he has a chance to stay a premier rusher in the league. However, it wasn’t always like this.
Montgomery recently mentioned he was pushed to the brink during his rookie year in Chicago. He dealt with online abuse, more from fantasy football player (who typically are playing for money too) than anything else. It got so bad that Montgomery contemplated suicide at one point.
“I was at a point where I was scared to live,” he said.
Montgomery credits a phone call from his nephew, who is suffering from leukemia, that helped “get him off the ledge” per se. Thankfully, Montgomery was able to beat the online bullying — not only mentally, but also on the field with great performances. But it highlights an issue not likely to go away for all athletes. Unfortunately, this is just human nature…
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