The NCAA released a portion of a harassment analysis done by the ethical data science company Signifiy Group to ESPN on Tuesday. The full report, which doesn’t account for private social media messages, is expected on Thursday.
The study identified 743 abusive or threatening messages tied to sports betting among the social media accounts of 3,000 athletes, 500 coaches, 200 officials, and more than 160 college teams monitored.
The study’s timeframe included the College Football Playoff, men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, baseball and softball's respective College World Series, and volleyball and gymnastics championships.
March Madness accounted for 73% of the “angry sports bettors” comments, with women receiving 59% “more abusive messages than men,” ESPN reported.
Signify Group also flagged 24% of abuse messages directed at softball athletes.
"It's clear to us too ... as the prevalence of sports betting went up, so did the prevalence of sports betting-related abuse," NCAA managing director of enterprise risk Clint Hangebrauck told ESPN.
Types of abuse
The study defined “angry sports bettors” as those who “engage in problematic and intrusive communications due to match events and results contradicting bettors’ predictions.”
Sexual abuse, racism, and homophobia were some of the harassment categories listed in ESPN’s report. Match-fixing allegations were part of the flagged messages as well.
One particular example of abuse shared by the NCAA was a message that a bettor told a high-profile basketball player that if he didn’t “get 22 points and 12” rebounds everyone he knows and loves would “be dead.”
Other public incidents have been reported outside of the study.
During March Madness, former North Carolina star Armando Bacot shed light on messages he received for not hitting the Over on his rebounds prop.
Last month, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said he received Venmo requests from angry bettors seeking financial retribution, something the Signfiy study also identified.
Protecting athletes
The NCAA brought in Signify Group in Dec. 2023 to use artificial intelligence to “support the Association in studying and responding to online abuse and threats directed at NCAA Championship participants including student-athletes, coaches, officials, and committee members.”
The monitored social media sites included X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
"Engaging Signify to monitor NCAA championships reflects our resolute commitment to college athlete safety and well-being,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said last year. “This is a first-of-its-kind project in college sports focusing on online abuse and threats while arming social platforms and law enforcement to take action to protect thousands of student-athletes and all championship participants.
"This pilot is just the start of much broader online protection measures the NCAA will put in place to guide our longer-term strategy in this crucial space."
In March, Baker called for legislators and regulators in 38 legal sports betting states to ban sportsbooks from offering college player prop bets.
Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisana complied shortly after Baker’s request. However, n other state that currently allows college player props has moved to alter its offerings.
