The NBA and its players’ union want abusive sports bettors to lose more than their wagers.
The league and NBPA joined the NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and their respective unions in asking state gambling regulators to impose lifetime sportsbook bans on individuals who threaten or harass athletes, coaches, officials, team employees or their families, according to David Purdum of ESPN.
The proposal was sent to regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia. It also calls for a streamlined system through which leagues and teams can submit evidence to regulators and law enforcement. Violators would be placed on an exclusion list shared across participating states.
Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming already have similar policies.
“Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families,” the leagues wrote. “Threatening the safety of an athlete or their family members over a sports bet crosses a bright ethical and criminal line.”
Rockets guard and NBPA president Fred VanVleet said in July that players carry “all of the burden, all of the risk and danger” created by professional sports’ growing association with gambling.
That association isn’t going anywhere. Betting odds are now baked into broadcasts, advertisements and seemingly every spare inch of the sports-viewing experience.
The leagues helped bring gambling into the building. Their players shouldn’t have to absorb threats from people who lost money once it got there.
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