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A new opinion piece in _The Hill_ argues Congress should step in to address online harassment of college athletes by sports bettors, saying current state-level efforts and awareness campaigns do not go far enough.
The article, written by Deymon X. Fleming, Jr., says legalized sports betting and player prop wagers have made individual athletes easier targets for abusive messages after games. It points to examples involving Florida State forward Cam Corhen and former North Carolina forward Armando Bacot as signs of a broader problem.
Why the author says current protections fall short
According to the piece, college athletes are receiving abusive and vulgar messages from fans and bettors, with one in three high-profile athletes said to receive abuse from people with a betting interest. The author argues that player prop bets are a key factor because they tie wagering outcomes directly to an individual athlete’s performance.
The column cites reported abuse sent to Corhen and says Bacot received more than 100 demeaning messages within 12 days of North Carolina legalizing player prop bets on college sports. It also argues that NCAA efforts such as the “Don’t Be a Loser” campaign raise awareness but do not have enforcement power.
What a federal response could look like
Rather than relying on a patchwork of state rules, the author calls for federal legislation creating a national standard for sports-betting-related harassment. The proposal described in the piece includes penalties for harassing conduct, a national banned bettors registry for people convicted of sports-related harassment, and a private legal remedy allowing athletes to sue repeat harassers.
The article also references a New York Senate bill as a possible model for defining harassment and treating convicted harassers as prohibited sports bettors. Fleming argues the legal focus should be on true threats and repeated targeted harassment, not ordinary criticism of athletic performance.
What Florida readers should watch
This is an opinion article, not a report on enacted legislation or a filed federal bill. Still, it adds to the policy debate around how sportsbooks, regulators, schools, and lawmakers should handle bettor behavior tied to athlete abuse.
For readers in Florida, the main takeaway is that athlete harassment is increasingly being framed as a gambling-policy issue, not just a sportsmanship problem. Whether any federal proposal emerges — and whether states adopt similar restrictions — remains an open question based on the source material.
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Source: As reported by Deymon X. Fleming, Jr..
