Just when I thought Victor Wembanyama couldn’t get any cooler, he took a firm stance against athletes getting involved with betting companies when asked if he would partner up with one on Thursday.
“Absolutely not, I will never do that,” Wembanyama said. “ Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it…”
Shots fired and amen.
The juxtaposition between him and Kevin Durant, who said on Friday he doesn’t think about the question while having business ties with FanDuel Sportsbook, seems as large as Calaveras Lake. If only Durant understood what he was doing to his image while he stood there indifferently in the scrum of reporters.
Too many athletes in recent years have sold out for an extra hefty check as if they aren’t getting extraordinary amounts of money already. Unfortunately, this bunch acts like they could miss the rent payment at midnight, while living large. On top of that, it’s highly sketchy when someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo announces after the trade deadline that he is a shareholder of Kalshi, a prediction market that took many bets on where he would go before the deadline.
More importantly than how annoying it is to see a constant stream of gambling ads during any sports event, that stuff is dangerous and some of the sports books are predatory. They are the new wise guys waiting to take advantage of society’s worst impulses. Just imagine trying to be a recovering gambler and the TV keeps presenting temptation.
Consider how DraftKings is being sued federally for alleged use of AI tactics that promote addiction, and FanDuel encouraged a user with a message containing a Cameo video of Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper, who said he was not aware that the video would be used for that. These underhanded schemes won’t go away unless the sports books are severely punished.
With all the harm gambling causes from victims ending up needing professional help, to committed suicides or someone hurting another over money, at what point does one consider the return from the books blood money? It’s a rigged system in which the house is going to win around 90 percent of the time, so any athlete endorsing it is just telling the public to light their hard-earned cash on fire.
Sports betting has already been more trouble than it’s worth for professional leagues to allow. The integrity of the NBA product was compromised when Jontay Porter copped a guilty plea for removing himself from a game so dirty bettors could make large sums of money. Terry Rozier was also federally indicted for his alleged role in a betting scheme.
If the seriousness of the game or what happens to the public isn’t enough to make decision makers consider changing direction, then one wonders if a player being put in danger or worse by some lunatic who lost money on a wager, is what does. Athletes complain enough about people in their direct messages upset about losing money when a game can go in plenty of directions — what’s to stop one of those sickos from taking it further?
As we know, the most prominent of all the names involved with betting companies is LeBron James, who would rather sell the public booze and promote Polymarket than care more about how that school he helped start is performing. He has made $581.3 million in NBA earnings and his coin purse does well in outside business. He and all the rest of the ballers involved in similar ventures should be ashamed of themselves.
It’s good that Wemby didn’t mince words because athletes are supposed to be role models since children will naturally look up to them. James has never been in a scandal, but his image takes a big hit with his latest partnership while Wembanyama’s rises. From actually finishing books to being unafraid to speak on important matters, Wemby couldn’t be any more different than James, the former face of the league, and that’s what the league needs right now.
