Venmo and NCAA Strengthen Guards Against Harassment of College Athletes

Venmo, the popular payment gateway that allows users to interact through social feeds, and the NCAA, the college-level governing body in the United States, have announced the launch of a new hotline meant to strengthen safeguards against harassment.

NCAA and Venmo have opened a new hotline that athletes can now reach out to and report instances of harassment through the platform, with Venmo’s security team stepping in to investigate.

Venmo to Monitor and Protect Student-Athletes on Its Platform, Offer Additional Resources

There has been a proliferation of targeting of athletes through Venmo, with many upset punters contacting athletes – especially those on the collegiate level – and asking for “refunds.”

Many have got angry and threatened physical retribution if their demands have not been met, and third, have tried soliciting insider knowledge to steer their wagers towards success. An athlete might be asked, “Hey, would you be playing in X game?”

The partnership also envisages additional initiatives, including a student-athlete resource, a best-practices guide, as it were, along with athlete account support whereby Venmo will monitor accounts of student-athletes, but also focus on educating its userbase as to why reaching out to athletes with such requests is inappropriate.

NCAA president Charlie Baker has welcomed this opportunity to strengthen player safety and ensure that student-athletes are free from harassment on social media:

“The harassment we are seeing across various online platforms is unacceptable, and we need fans to do better. We applaud Venmo for taking action, and we need more social media companies and online platforms to do the same. Several states have passed laws to crack down on this behavior to protect student-athletes, and we hope more do the same because stopping this abuse requires action on multiple fronts,” Baker explained.

Instances of Athletes Being Approached by Gamblers Are “Unacceptable”

PayPal SVP, head of global financial crime and customer protection, David Szuchman, also commented on the incidents with student-athletes receiving unwanted attention, calling them “unacceptable.”

The NCAA has been a vocal supporter of working closely with various private and law enforcement agencies to ensure that student-athletes are protected. The association has criticized player props, and most recently, it has taken a swipe at prediction markets, which it argues are a threat to the integrity of the sport.

In the meantime, the NCAA has also taken an inward look, working with law enforcement to investigate illegal betting activities as well.