Study: Female college basketball players received 3X more threats than their male counterparts

In the wake of harassment of student-athletes by sports bettors, the NCAA recently studied how NCAA championship participants were the subject of abuse and threats. Something that has been on the rise with the spread of legalized sports betting.

The study found that one in three high-profile athletes receive abusive messages from someone with a betting interest. That higher-profile events with sports betting markets attract increased volumes of abuse or threats. It found that 90% of harassment is generated online or through social media, and in sports with high volumes of betting, 15%-25% of all abuse surrounding that competition is betting-related.

During March Madness, in particular, it looked at nearly 1,000 Division I men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes, 64 teams, over 280 coaches and 120 NCAA match officials.