Online betting, especially on sports, has taken off in the last few years, with apps allowing people to experience what was once only legal and available in a few places in the United States. But some gamblers are apparently taking things too far.
A gambler using FanDuel Sportsbook, a U.S. online gambling and sports betting platform, posted several videos of himself heckling Olympic runner Gabby Thomas at the Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on social media.
Thomas posted about her day in Philly on X.
@mr100kaday/X
And the man, who goes by "Mr 100K a day" on X, bragged in a comment on her post that he made Thomas lose so he could win a bet on the online gambling site.
He wrote:
"I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win."
He included video of him heckling her, which reportedly included racist and misogynist slurs.
He also posted several other videos, making the same claim that he influenced the outcome of the race.
@mr100kaday/X
@mr100kaday/X
In response, Thomas called him out in a separate post on X, with a link to one of his posts that he subsequently deleted or made private.
She wrote:
"This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults."
"Anybody who enables him online is gross."
In another comment, Thomas acknowledged heckling is part of sports, but felt the man went too far.
People were appalled by the behavior.
r/Fauxmoi/Reddit
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In a statement to Front Office Sports, Grand Slam Track indicated they are investigating the man, saying:
"Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary."
"We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated."
FanDuel Group also investigated the user and banned him from their site.
In an official statement the gambling site wrote:
"[FanDuel Sportsbook] condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes. Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel."