NBA Coach Highlights Downside of Legal Sports Betting Industry

The U.S. legal sports betting industry has received some criticism, most recently from one NBA coach and a handful of players who spoke out about the industry's effects on the hardcourt product. The Association is a popular betting choice across our best sports betting sites.

Indiana Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton's early-week comments about feeling like a "prop" generated media attention and piggybacked on Rudy Gobert's feelings about how added pressures from gambling are real and could be a problem in the future.

Gobert was fined $100,000 by the league last week for making a money sign toward an NBA referee. Following the fine, Gobert said "I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s [betting] is hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”

Now, Wednesday's comments by Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff about threats he's received from a gambler have added to concerns about the legalization of sports betting's effect on the games themselves. 

Harassment by bettors toward players has been making its way into the spotlight recently, with various jurisdictions trying to highlight its potential among college-age athletes. It appears as though similar concerns are now creeping into the pro sports realm.

In the view of Bickerstaff, sports betting has “gone too far.”

Threats

During a Wednesday press conference, Bickerstaff spoke to NBA reporters about threats that he and his family have received from one sports bettor.

“They got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff, so it is a dangerous game and a fine line that we’re walking for sure,” said Bickerstaff of the NBA's increasingly close relationship with the U.S. legal sports betting industry.

Bickerstaff acknowledged that the gambler was located, but no charges were ever filed.

Such threats are seen as an unwanted and ugly byproduct of legal sports betting, and NCAA president Charlie Barker, in particular, has been proactive in advocating against them.

Distraction

Bickerstaff, in his press conference also commented on just how the legal sports betting industry affects his and his players' day-to-day routines. 

“It brings a distraction to the game that can be difficult for players, coaches, referees, everybody that’s involved in it. And I think that we really have to be careful with how close we let it get to the game and the security of the people who are involved in it. A lot of times the people who are gambling like this money pay their light bill or pay their rent, and then the emotions that come from that. 

“The amount of times where I’m standing up there and we may have a 10-point lead and the spread is 11 and people are yelling at me to leave the guys in so that we can cover the spread, it’s ridiculous. But again, I understand the business side of it and the nature of the business. But I mean, it is something that I believe has gone too far,” he said.

What can be done?

As mentioned, harassment concerns are on the radar of various leagues in the North American market. The NCAA has been at the forefront of efforts to combat student-athlete harassment.

Whether we will see efforts by any professional leagues to limit the pressures put on its athletes in relation to sports remains to be seen. But recent comments by high-profile NBA stars could be a catalyst for programs to protect its assets against nefarious actors.