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The NCAA is participating in the Bad Actor Program to combat sports betting-related threats and online harassment of college athletes, according to Sportico.com. The announcement comes as an NCAA study of more than 20,000 college athletes found nearly half of Division I men’s basketball players reported receiving a negative or threatening message from someone who had bet on their game.
The initiative is national in scope. No West Virginia-specific change was reported.
Program shares information with sportsbooks
Established by IC360 and Signify Group, the Bad Actor Program monitors and investigates individuals suspected of abusive online behavior. It shares information that betting platforms could use to ban those individuals.
The NCAA is the first sports governing body to publicly announce its participation. Fanatics is the program’s first sportsbook partner.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said the association is “committed to working with stakeholders across the sports betting ecosystem to eradicate this horrific behavior that plagues sports far too often.”
NCAA research documents online abuse
A review of 1.3 million social media posts and comments directed at athletes and coaches flagged more than 72,000 messages as problematic. More than 5,000 contained abusive, discriminatory or threatening content.
Signify’s report covering the 2023–24 championship season included examples of harassment aimed at college athletes, coaches and officials. Those examples included threats of violence and messages blaming athletes for losing bets.
The NCAA also collaborates with Venmo on a reporting hotline to identify and disrupt betting-related threats and harassment.
More from playwv.com – NCAA Point-Shaving Fixer Pleads Guilty in $3 Million Wagering Scheme – NCAA Joins Bad Actor Program; West Virginia Can Exclude Harassers – U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve Remains Above October 30 Drawdown Threshold
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Source: As reported by Sportico.com.
