NCAA - 1 in 3 star athletes receive abuse, threats by bettors - ESPN

One in three high-profile athletes receive abusive messages from individuals with a «betting interest,» and more than 540 men's and women's college basketball players received similar abuse, including death threats, during championship tournaments in March, the NCAA said in a release Friday.

The NCAA looked at athletes participating in sports that attract the most betting interest — football and basketball, among others — and found that online abuse is widespread. Signify, an artificial intelligence company and NCAA partner, covered 1,000 Division I men's and women's college basketball players, 64 teams, more than 200 coaches and 120 NCAA game officials during March Madness. The analysis, which is part of an NCAA initiative aimed at combating online abuse and harassment, found 4,000 posts or comments that were confirmed to be abusive or threatening during March Madness.

The NCAA said the data showed women's basketball players received approximately three times more overall threats than men's players and that 15-25% of abuse directed at players, coaches and officials who are involved in the most popular college sports was related to betting.

«Individuals who harass athletes, amateur or professional, over a sports bet should not be tolerated,» Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, told ESPN in a statement. «Importantly, the legal sports wagering market is providing the transparency critical to discuss solutions to reducing player harassment for the first time — an opportunity illegal market actors do not provide. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with the NCAA, professional leagues, and other stakeholders on the universal shared goal of reducing athlete