A few dozen times a month, college athletes report harassment from frustrated sports bettors to U.S. Integrity through Athlete Alert, an anonymous tipline launched by U.S. Integrity and RealResponse in May.
These harassing messages would shock people, according to U.S. Integrity Founder and CEO Matt Holt.
“It’s hard to even say some of the messages out loud,” Holt said. “They’re so vile.”
Athletes receive angry messages from bettors that can extend all the way to physical threats, including death threats. All types of harassing messages are reported to officials, with the most severe threats being reported to law enforcement. Other reports might be shared with universities or state gaming regulators.
Reports are kept anonymous, something Holt stresses to student-athletes about Athlete Alert. U.S. Integrity wants the tipline to be a “safe haven” for athletes to share their experiences.
Early Athlete Alert returns 22121
Holt says the tipline receives “tens” of reports per month of athlete harassment, but he believes it’s more likely that hundreds or even thousands of harassing messages are sent to athletes monthly. He’s hopeful the tool will become more widely used going into 2024, especially as legal sports betting continues to expand nationwide.
Awareness of Athlete Alert grew over the summer as U.S. Integrity met with college athletic departments across the country, but there’s still a desire for increased awareness.
“I’ve never met any student-athlete, coach, or official who likes the amount of abuse or harassment they get,” Holt said. “So if we all agree it’s bad, reporting it is the first way that we can help deter it. I think that message, at the very least, is starting to resonate more and more.”
Athlete Alert allows for anonymous text messages to be submitted, giving modern-day athletes a convenient way to share their reports. U.S. Integrity then filters the reports into analyses that can be used by relevant authorities to create better athlete protections.
Legislative push 4d6xt
Ultimately, Holt wants increased legislative action to protect athletes, coaches, and officials from harassment by bettors.
creating an app for Ohio athletes to anonymously from bettors. The OCCC is also considering a public awareness campaign on athlete harassment.
“There’s this added pressure on college athletes, in particular, because of them living and going to classes with the people who are betting on them,” Amanda Blackford, the OCCC’s director of operations, said at a recent meeting. “They’re hearing things like ‘You cost me my rent money’ or ‘You made me lose the spread.'”
Ohio’s by banning bettors from wagering in the state if they harass athletes. Del. Shawn Fluharty told Sports Handle in September that he’s optimistic West Virginia will follow Ohio’s lead.
One of the current challenges for U.S. Integrity is finding the bettors who harass athletes. When harassing players via social media, the furious bettors often use burner s that make it challenging for Holt’s team to track their identity.
If a sizable number of states take legislative action to ban bettors who harass athletes, Holt thinks it’s more likely that major social media companies would work with U.S. Integrity, which would help the company determine the true identities behind burner s targeting athletes.
“We really are hoping that we can get more state legislatures to not only agree that this is bad, this should stop, but here are actions we’re going to try to take to help stop it,” Holt said.
