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Grand Slam Track is launching an investigation into a fan who said he heckled sprinter Gabby Thomas at its Philadelphia meet this weekend so his FanDuel parlays would hit.
A user who goes by “Mr. 100k A Day” on multiple social media platforms where he posts about track and field responded to Thomas’s recap post from the weekend. He wrote: “I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.” In the post he included a video where he stands directly above the runners as they line up for their race. He three times said “You’re going down Gabby” and called her a “choke artist,” and shouted he wanted Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win because she recently married a Black man, while Thomas is engaged to a white man.
The user also posted screenshots of winnings from two-leg and four-leg parlays on FanDuel. According to the screenshots, he wagered a total of $1,200 and won more than $2,500.
“This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults—anybody who enables him online is gross,” Thomas posted Monday in response to one of the user’s videos.
“Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video,” the league said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated.”
(Update, June 4, 11:19 a.m.: FanDuel said the man would no longer be allowed to place bets on the platform. “FanDuel condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes,” the company said in a statement. “Threatening or harassing athletes in unacceptable and has no place in sports.” The company did not answer questions about whether they rescinded the man’s winnings.)
Thomas, 28, won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics, and in Tokyo earned silver and bronze.
The user posted another video where he interacted with Thomas, who smiled as she asked “What are you doing here?” and called him a “heckler.” Accompanying the video, he wrote, “Nice to heckle gabby thomas today and make her lose at @GrandSlamTrack. It was my pleasure.” In another post, the user thanked Jefferson-Wooden “for beating the crap out of gabby thomas…and getting me rich!!!!”
The Philadelphia Slam at Franklin Field was the league’s third meet in its inaugural season. The league’s architect, Michael Johnson, recently told FOS that the fan experience is more important for the league at this stage than the size of a stadium.
“Franklin Field [in Philadelphia], the fans are right up on—if you’re running in lane eight, a fan is right there, which creates a much better, intimate experience for fans,” Johnson said.
The WNBA recently conducted a similar investigation into fan behavior after allegations arose of racial comments directed at players during a Chicago Sky–Indiana Fever game. The league said it did not substantiate reports of the incident but will remain “vigilant in enforcing our fan code of conduct.” The NCAA has also been vocal about harmful fan behavior toward athletes, particularly around betting. NCAA president Charlie Baker has said one NCAA championship team had 24/7 police protection because of a threat from a bettor, and asked Congress to ban prop betting on college sports.
Thomas has been vocal online about a group of men who she says have stalked her in the airport on several occasions. She says the men have met her at her concourse or at her gate and asked her to sign dozens of photos of herself.
“What scares me is that they have my flight information, even when I don’t even know what time I’m flying out sometimes,” Thomas said in a video in January. “I don’t tell anyone my flight information. I’ve changed all my email passwords. I don’t know if they’re hacking me. But they get really aggressive and hostile if I say no and when I’m by myself, it’s really scary.”
