PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said the league is reviewing what Bryce Harper alleged was FanDuel\u2019s improper use of a Cameo video recorded by the Philadelphia Phillies star.<\/p>\n
In November 2024, Harper recorded a Thanksgiving message for a Philadelphia fan named Terry Thompson, who claims he has incurred more than $1.5 million in gambling debt with FanDuel. When Thompson received the 21-second video, he said<\/a> it was branded with FanDuel\u2019s name and logo, presented as a perk for a VIP bettor.<\/p>\n Harper says he didn\u2019t know about Thompson\u2019s gambling issues, nor that FanDuel would use the video for commercial purposes. Manfred said that Harper did not breach any terms of the collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not really certain that I know all of the underlying facts well enough to evaluate the behavior,\u201d Manfred said Tuesday at his annual All-Star Game press conference. \u201cThe important thing is Bryce\u2019s activity was not a violation of the basic agreement. We made sure about that. We\u2019ll continue to try to figure out exactly how we ended up where we ended up on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Harper originally received a video request on Cameo, a platform in which athletes and celebrities film personalized videos for a fee; Harper\u2019s rate starts at $899. This particular request, which came from someone identified as a FanDuel VIP host named Bryttanni, was not purchased through a separate category for business videos, Harper said in a statement released Monday on his Instagram account. Harper added that he has no affiliation with FanDuel.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened here went beyond anything I knew about or approved,\u201d Harper said in the statement.<\/p>\n Thompson and another plaintiff are suing several sportsbooks, including FanDuel, claiming the companies use their products and VIP services to coerce bettors into gambling more. Thompson alleges his FanDuel VIP manager, Bryttanni Morgan, offered an array of benefits, such as free tickets and hotel accommodations to attend the Super Bowl, all to motivate him to keep gambling. Harper\u2019s name did not appear in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n In the video, Harper references \u201cyour host Bryttanni from FanDuel,\u201d wishes Thompson and his family a happy Thanksgiving, and says to tell his son hello. He makes no mention of Thompson\u2019s gambling habits.<\/p>\n \u201cI read (the script) in good faith,\u201d Harper said in his statement. \u201cFanDuel then put its own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion. I did not know FanDuel would do this, I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cHad I known FanDuel\u2019s true intent, I would not have made the video. The same is true had I known anything about Terry or his situation, or about any alleged \u2018partnership\u2019 between Cameo and FanDuel.\u201d<\/p>\n