Sports Bettor Heckles Gabby Thomas in Latest Case of Abuse

It takes a special kind of petty good-for-nothing to travel up to meet an Olympic gold medalist, just to heckle them so that a flutter they placed on said athlete may win.

Yet, this is precisely what happened in the case of Gabby Thomas, a decorated Olympian who was verbally abused during a Gand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia last week.

Heckled by a Passionate Gambler Who Just Wanted to Win

A proud dreg of society jumped on X to brag about “making Gabby lose” so that they could win their wager, and they did – posting a celebratory social media post in which they attested to their remarkable feat, apparently putting Thomas off their game for the duration of the race.

“I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,” the person said, showing a slip from their multi-leg bets on FanDuel.

Thomas is a gold medalist in the 200 meters. She also won the 4×100 metres and 4×400 metres relays in Paris, but she was thrown off by the constant heckling of the passionate sports gambler last week.

Abuse of this type is not unheard of and in fact with the legalization of sports gambling in the United States, it has become a talking point in the country, with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) taking measures to protect college-level athletes, and working with multiple parties, including law enforcement, to track down abusers and hecklers and press charges against them.

Hecklers Should Not Be Let Off the Hook Easily

While Thomas’ heckler is unlikely to suffer any immediate consequences as the case has had its moment of Internet fame, it’s not right for sports bettors to be allowed to manipulate the outcome of wagers. For one, FanDuel could probably avoid the person’s wagers if it sees it as meddling with the event.

Yet, this is hardly enough. Following the example of the NCAA, sports bodies ought to do more to punish hecklers who have started appearing at golf tournaments and live sports in general.