College sports betting took center stage at Siena College in upstate New York on Thursday as student-athletes and coaches detailed social media harassment from bettors in recent years.
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) organized the roundtable discussion in his home district in support of his federal sports betting legislation, the SAFE Bet Act. The legislation calls for an outright ban on college prop betting and includes other restrictions on advertising.
“The embarrassing thing is the public messages that are directed at the players because a lot of times they don’t feel like they can defend themselves,” Siena men’s basketball coach Gerry McNamara said. “There was always a fanatic component, but now you have the financial component (with sports betting), and that is where the threats get more serious.”
