WNBA player Natasha Cloud is urging Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to take stronger action against gambling-related harassment directed at players. Her comments follow Chelsea Gray’s decision to publicly share abusive messages she received from a sports bettor, renewing attention on the impact of sports betting on athlete safety.
Cloud said harassment from sports bettors has become an increasingly common experience for WNBA players, particularly as legal sports betting has expanded across the United States. She argued that while abusive comments have long existed on social media, the rise of gambling has created a new wave of messages from bettors upset over individual player performances.
Cloud made the remarks after Gray shared a racist DM she received following a game, using the incident as an example of the type of abuse players regularly encounter. According to Cloud, the problem extends well beyond criticism on the court, with athletes receiving racist and sexist messages, along with death threats.
She also said players often become targets based on a single missed shot, turnover, or anything that affects a player prop wager. Cloud believes these incidents should be treated as a player safety issue rather than simply an unavoidable part of competing in professional sports.
Concerns about harassment from sports bettors are not limited to the WNBA. Athletes across professional and collegiate sports have increasingly spoken out about abusive messages tied to gambling losses.
Earlier this season, Los Angeles Dodgers closer Tanner Scott revealed he received death threats after giving up a late lead against the Philadelphia Phillies. Rather than criticizing his performance, many of the messages came from bettors who blamed him for losing wagers, highlighting how a single play can trigger a wave of abuse on social media.
College athletes have also become frequent targets. The NCAA has repeatedly warned that student-athletes are facing growing levels of online harassment from sports bettors, prompting discussions about stronger protections. NCAA officials have raised concerns that younger athletes may be particularly vulnerable because they often lack the support systems and security resources available to professional players.
The issue has also reached individual sports. PGA Tour golfer Jordan Spieth recently acknowledged that gambling-related messages have become a regular part of life for many golfers, with bettors often contacting players after missed putts or poor rounds. Spieth said the increase in legalized sports betting has amplified the volume of abuse hurled at athletes.
Reducing betting-related harassment will likely require leagues, sportsbooks, social media companies, and integrity services to work together. Leagues can establish clear reporting procedures and provide security support for athletes, but operators are also in a position to penalize customers whose conduct crosses the line.
Fanatics Sportsbook recently offered one potential model by creating the Bad Actor Program in partnership with Integrity Compliance 360 and Signify Group. The initiative uses online monitoring technology to identify threatening or abusive posts directed at athletes, coaches, and officials. Fanatics can then permanently close the sportsbook accounts of customers linked to that behavior.
Expanding similar policies across the industry could create meaningful consequences for bettors who currently face little risk beyond having a social media post removed. A shared system could also prevent someone banned by one operator for threatening a player from simply moving to another sportsbook.
Overall, this is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed, as athletes across multiple sports have expressed their concerns.
