5 major sports leagues and players associations ask for protections from sports bettors’ threats

ATLANTA (AP) — Five professional sports leagues and their players associations have aligned forces to ask for protections for players and staff who face threats and harassment from sports bettors.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter sent Tuesday to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia. In the letter, the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, Major League Soccer and the NHL and the leagues’ players associations asked that rules be established to permanently revoke betting privileges for anyone found to have threatened or “abusively harassed” any professional or amateur athlete, coach, official or team personnel.”

The letter to state gambling regulators cited “the escalating threat facing professional players, coaches, and officials, the continued harassment and violent threats from sports bettors.”

“While the expansion of legal, state-regulated sports betting has brought new ways for fans to engage with their favorite sports, it has also introduced some negative consequences for players and other personnel involved with professional sporting events,” the leagues and players associations wrote. “Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players coaches and their families via social media and in-person interactions.