Citing reports of death threats, pointed criticism and cyberbullying, the Big Ten Student-Athlete Issues Commission urged NCAA President Charlie Baker and collegiate leaders to continue pressuring state gaming commissions to eliminate or limit prop betting on college athletics.
“While we understand that sports betting is becoming increasingly more common across the country and allows for states to generate increased tax revenue, prop betting represents unique risks at the college level,” the commission wrote in a letter released Tuesday morning. “We believe protecting student-athletes must be a priority. Limiting or eliminating prop betting on college athletics would be a meaningful step toward reducing harassment, protecting mental well-being, and preserving the integrity of college competition.”
The commission, which was formed in 1994, includes 22 athletes representing all 18 Big Ten universities. It meets monthly to discuss issues involving collegiate athletics.
Pressures have mounted on college athletes since 2018, when the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal law banning sports gambling. Now, 39 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have legalized sports betting, and around half allow for prop bets on college athletics. Prop bets include non-outcome wagering that focuses on individual statistics, such as yards or points scored by a player.
When players miss on those targets, they often become heavily scrutinized and are subject to online or in-person harassment. When athletes fail to perform up to betting expectations, the commission outlined, they often are accused of impropriety or intentionally fixing the prop bet or event result.
“This kind of treatment is harmful, unnecessary, and often relentless,” the Big Ten student commission wrote. “It negatively affects mental health and distracts from both athletic and academic responsibilities. Student-athletes should not be blamed or attacked for the outcome of someone else’s bet.
“There are fans that sit behind the bench yelling horrible things when expectations are not met, and the keyboard warriors not in attendance send cruel DMs to players when bets do not cash out. Prop bets are a direct avenue to the overwhelming number of death threats that student-athletes receive if they “ruin a parlay” or cause a fan to lose their bet. Sports betting does not give anyone the right to dehumanize athletes. We are human beings over everything else — more than a jersey number, a stat line, or someone else’s wager.”
The letter comes less than a month after Baker also issued a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and state gaming commissions requesting the elimination or reduction of prop bets to alleviate pressures on college athletes. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti also released a statement in support of his athletes.
In January, 26 people, including current or former players on more than a dozen men’s basketball teams, were charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to manipulate college basketball games.
