NCAA pushes back on harassment of athletes from fans losing bets

• A new NCAA commercial targets a rash of online harassment of student-athletes surrounding March Madness performances. The spot is airing during NCAA tournament games.
• According to the American Gaming Association $3.1 billion will be wagered on the NCAA tournament over the three weeks.
• Of the 72,000 messages targeting student-athletes in a 2024 survey, 80% were directed at those involved in March Madness.

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The three weeks of basketball during March Madness is the biggest single-betting event in the United States. According to the NCAA and the American Gaming Association, an estimated $3.1 billion will be legally bet on at this year’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

Who is the target of online harassment?

That’s double the amount wagered on the Super Bowl. A majority of those bets lose, which has the NCAA concerned about the recent uptick in harassment of players, coaches and officials. After a recent loss in the Big Ten tournament, Indiana center Oumar Ballo spoke to reporters about the issue.

“You lose one game, two games, the next thing you know, your DMs is crazy. Like, death wishes, death threats, and stuff like that, nobody wants to live like that. And I hope people, they change stuff like that because this is not helping anybody,” Ballo said.

The NCAA has conducted multiple studies researching the activity and habits of gamblers between the ages of 18 and 22. Those studies show that 67% of students have engaged in sports betting. That, coupled with the number of online comments and harassment players, coaches and officials receive, prompted the governing body to start a program called “Draw the Line.”

What is the NCAA doing to combat the problem?

This week as part of that program, a TV spot debuted during tournament games, asking for fans to reign in their bad behavior.

“Game time comes with enough pressure. Way too often, people are betting on sports losing and taking it out on the athletes. Only a loser would harass college athletes after losing a bet, but it happens almost every day. Root for your team, get crazy when the buzzer sounds, but don’t harass anyone because you lost the bet,” the commercial announces.

Are any more measures being taken?

In addition to that commercial, the NCAA is also advocating removing player prop bets from online gambling sites. Player prop bets are individual bets based on player performance, like how many points a player scores in a given game. 18 states and Washington, D.C., have banned those bets so far.

According to the “Draw the Line” website, over 100,000 student-athletes have received sports betting harm-prevention education, and thousands of student-athletes, coaches and others are covered by an online harassment monitoring service. However, players like Ballo still say more needs to be done.

“At the end of the day, we are human beings; we have feelings, you know. Just like you, you wake up, go to work, and someone is wishing nothing but the worst to you in your work, y’know?” Ballo said. “It’s, it’s mentally draining, and nobody want to deal with that for a whole five-month season. It’s too much to take in for players and for coaches.”

This time of year is especially important for bringing attention to the issue. According to the NCAA, of the 72,000 messages flagged for harassment of student-athletes during last year’s study, more than 80% were directed at those participating in March Madness.