FanDuel has banned a bettor who declared on X that heckling Gabby Thomas at a track event had led to his bet winning.
The gambler, posted on his X account @mr100kaday “I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.”
He also posted a video where he can be heard shouting, “You a choke artist, Gabby” and “You going down, Gabby!”. The video showed him heckling Thomas before her 100m race at a Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia, which was won by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.
The bettor showed his betslip next to the video, showing a win of $1,696.97 from a $1000 stake and a $827.11 win from a $200 four-way parlay. All his bets were strong favorites to win their races, with Jefferson-Wooden -180 to win against Thomas.
FanDuel condemns the actions
The sports betting site that accepted the wagers, FanDuel, has since banned the user.
“FanDuel condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes,” a FanDuel spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel.”
Grand Slam Track has also launched an investigation into the man’s actions. The Philadelphia sports venue stated that it is conducting a “full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video.”
“We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary,” Grand Slam Track said. “We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated.”
Bettors abusing sports stars
The incident comes in the wake of Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr reporting he received death threats against his family on social media after a game last month. Houston Police traced the abuse to an overseas bettor who had been intoxicated at the time of sending the messages. The abuser reportedly apologized for the messages and has not been named by police, although the investigation is ongoing.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks also spoke out last month after receiving “deplorable” abuse online from angry bettors. Hendriks commented that online abuse “is almost a daily occurrence for almost everyone” on the team.
Fellow Red Sox player Jarren Duran was also heckled by a fan referencing his past mental health struggles during a game in Cleveland. The fan was ejected from the stadium for the incident.
A study commissioned last year by the NCAA found that abuse by “angry sports bettors” is one of the most common types of harassment college athletes receive, making up at least 12% of publicly posted social media abuse.
In the past, some individuals have been prosecuted for online abuse. In 2019, Addison Choi was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $5,500 for sending death threats to 45 college athletes, blaming them for his gambling losses. A year later, Benjamin Patz, aka Parlay Patz, was sentenced to 36 months of probation for threatening professional and college athletes, including graphic threats to players and their families, after losing bets.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
