NBA coach JB Bickerstaff receives threats from gamblers: A warning for the league

JB Bickerstaff, coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA, reported that he received threats from gamblers (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

Betting has generated more than one headache in the world of sports. In tennis and football there have been cases that ended with players being sentenced for match-fixing and there have also been threats from bettors. In the last few hours, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, JB Bickerstaff, made a strong complaint that put the NBA on alert.

After the game that the Cavs lost 107-104 against the Miami Heat at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Bickerstaff faced the microphones at a press conference and openly denounced that he had received some anonymous messages from bettors and called for attention to the basketball league. largest in the United States, which allows commercial actions between betting houses and franchises.

“Some of those sports bettors got my phone number and sent me text messages giving me information about where I live, my kids and all that. “This is a dangerous game and it is a fine line we are walking on, without a doubt,” warned the coach of the Cavaliers, a team whose sponsor is a gambling site.

Bickerstaff said he understood “the business side” of sports betting for the NBA, but said that in his opinion “it has gone too far” and that there could be unintended consequences for the protagonists.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Beckerstaff holds a press conference (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

“This brings extra pressure and distraction to the sport which can be difficult for players, coaches, referees and everyone involved. I think we have to be very careful how close we let it be in our sport and with everyone’s safety. Many times people who gamble pay their electricity bill or their rent with that money and the emotions come from that. So I think we are walking a very fine line and we have to be extremely careful protecting everyone,” the coach added.

These statements from Bickerstaff came just one day after Tyrese Haliburton, star of the Indiana Pacers and one of the players with the most present and future in the NBA, also spoke about sports betting. “Not everyone cares about how we feel. For half of the world, I only help them make money at DraftKings (betting house) or whatever,” the player expressed when telling what his work process was like with a sports psychologist.

Regarding the betting link, the NBA and Sportradar announced in a statement that NBA League Pass, the league’s streaming platform, will include options to bet live while watching the games.

The North American basketball league has gotten closer and closer in recent years to sports betting, a huge market in the United States that continues to grow with million-dollar profits. This generates distrust in a competition that is entering the definition stages to enter the Playoffs.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton spoke about sports betting in the NBA (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

In this sense, one of the most striking points of the latest NBA collective agreement is that it allows players to invest in betting companies (up to a maximum of 1%) and promote companies in the sector without explicitly advertising bets related to the NBA.

A case that serves as an example occurred ten days ago in the duel between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers, when French center Rudy Gobert received a $100,000 penalty for “directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture at a referee and publicly criticizing the referee.” ”, a controversy that also had sports betting in the background.

The thing is that in the last minute of the game, the referees called a foul against Gobert when he was trying to gain an offensive rebound. It was the sixth personal, for which the Frenchman was expelled. Before leaving the court, the player made the “money gesture” with the fingers of both hands to a referee, implying that he might be bought or have some financial interest, for example, with sports betting.

2024-03-21 20:06:59
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