The NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA, NHL and their players\u2019 unions formally asked state regulators Tuesday to address the \u201cescalating threat\u201d of harassment and violent threats directed at athletes and staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches and their families via social media and in-person interactions,\u201d the groups wrote in a letter signed by each of the sports leagues and unions.<\/p>\n
Athletes across sports<\/a> have increasingly spoken out about harassment and threats<\/a> received by bettors who lost money, as sports betting has surged since the Supreme Court paved the way for widespread legalization in 2018.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the NCAA launched an anti-harassment campaign, and the Big Ten athletes commission asked the NCAA to advocate limiting prop bets because of athlete harassment.<\/p>\n The leagues and unions ask gaming commissions and regulators to require sportsbooks to implement a lifetime ban on bettors found to have \u201cabusively harassed or issued threats of violence\u201d toward athletes, coaches or other athletic staff and their families.<\/p>\n The letter also asks regulators to create a standardized reporting system and to require sportsbooks to \u201cproactively monitor, flag, and ban accounts linked to abusive behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHarassing or threatening an athlete, coach, or official over a sports bet is unacceptable, and we support efforts to hold those individuals accountable,\u201d said Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance, an industry group that includes a variety of sportsbooks, in response to the letter. \u201cLegal sportsbooks already have policies to suspend or ban customers who engage in threatening or abusive behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cSBA members are investing in tools and partnerships that help identify bad actors and share information with leagues and other stakeholders. We welcome efforts by leagues, players and regulators to build on that work and make clear that harassment has no place in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n