NCAA’s Latest Campaign Calls Aggressive Sports Betters ‘Losers’

The NCAA has launched an anti-harassment video aimed at people who bet and lose on games. 

The new 30-second video opens with the line, “There’s losing, then there’s being a loser.” The short clip then explains how betters shouldn’t take out their frustrations on players who often receive the brunt of the criticism after games. 

“Way too often, people are betting on sports, losing, and then taking it out on athletes,” the voiceover in the video explains. “Only a loser will harass college athletes after losing a bet.” 

In a statement posted on the NCAA website accompanying the video, the organization’s president Charlie Baker opened up about the harassment that players have received.

"The horrific messages we are seeing across online platforms is absolutely unacceptable," said Baker. "Angry fans are sending numerous abusive messages and threats to student-athletes, publicly and privately, because of lost bets placed on the athlete's performance in a game.”

“These actions severely threaten student-athlete mental health and well-being, while harming the college athletics environment,” continued Baker. “We need fans to do better. We need states to do better and ban player props that target student-athletes and enable detrimental abuse."

Betting on players has never been more popular in pop culture — and it’s largely due to how some of the biggest names in rap music have openly endorsed it. Drake’s been open about his love for gambling — even though it’s cost him a lot in the past. Last July, he lost a $300,00 bet on Canada’s soccer team to beat Argentina in the Copa América semifinal.

Another rapper who’s become known for his love of sports betting is 42 Dugg. Last Christmas, his post about NFL quarterback Russell Wilson went viral because of how pissed he was at him. “Russel Wilson so fucking weak old ass nigga give it the fuck up you costing niggas money cuz ,merrry fucking Christmas dog,” he wrote. 

In another post, 42 Dugg called out another NFL quarterback, Geno Smith — but this message was much more optimistic than the prior one. “Geno smith ah very special dude that’s all ima say boy ,whatever need to happen for the Seahawks not to get in the playoffs needs to happen Sunday morning lord amen,” he wrote.