FanDuel has suspended one of its bettors after repeatedly heckling Gabby Thomas in order to win a deal on the platform. The athlete, who brought home three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, competed in the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia last weekend.
The bettor describes himself as a “Track and Field Bully” and goes by “mr100kaday” on social media. He posted a video of himself heckling Thomas before her participation in the 100-meter race.
“Don’t choke, Gabby, like you did yesterday, Gabby,” he yelled, according to Yahoo Sports. “You a choke artist. You going down, Gabby.”
The heckling lasted over a minute in the video, in which he was also heard making comments about Thomas’s husband.
The bettor also posted a screenshot of a $1,000 parlay bet on FanDuel.
“I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,” he wrote on X.
Thomas addressed the incident online: “This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults- anybody who enables him online is gross,” she wrote on her X account.
Grand Slam Track has launched an investigation into the incident
The organization is conducting a “full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video,” according to ESPN. “We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary.”
“We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated,” it added.
FanDuel also said it has banned the bettor from its platform and has condemned heckling against athletes.
“FanDuel condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes,” a FanDuel spokesperson said. “Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel.”
Some athletes say heckling has increased in recent years because of online betting
Major League Baseball players have said the practice has been increasing due to the expansion of sports betting in the United States, according to ESPN. Lance McCullers Jr., a pitcher for the Houston Astros, said he received online threats against his family in May. At the time, law enforcement linked the threats to an online bettor located overseas.
In 2024, the NCAA found that abuse conducted by “angry sports bettors” is one of the most common forms of harassment against college athletes. It makes up to 12% of publicly posted social media abuse, ESPN reported.
