An NBA fan complained in the Trail Blazers’ X/Twitter comment section that an injured player was ruining his parlay.
The official team account responded with a screenshot to a gambling help hotline.
On Tuesday, guard Anfernee Simons went to the locker room in the first quarter of a 122–108 win over the Timberwolves on the first night of the NBA Emirates Cup.
“He was experiencing a little shortness of breath kind of out of nowhere,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said after the game. “And we wanted to be extra cautious, obviously.” Billups said Simons underwent initial testing that turned up normal, but the team will run further tests Wednesday.
The Trail Blazers account posted an update that Simons had a chest injury and would not return to the game.
“There goes everyones parlay smh injuries are ruining the fun of sports betting and rigging is at an all time high,” one user replied to the status report.
The official account responded, quote-tweeting the user with a responsible gambling resource. The screenshot suggests calling 1-800-GAMBLER, a 24/7 hotline for those struggling with a gambling addiction. As of Wednesday afternoon, the post had close to 90,000 likes.
It’s quite a cheeky fan interaction for the official account, and highlights the increasing feedback players and teams get from disappointed sports bettors. These issues have only grown as sports betting increases in popularity after the Supreme Court overturned the federal law prohibiting most states from allowing sports betting in 2018. In the NBA alone, then-Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said in March that he and his family have received threats from gamblers, and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has said he feels like a “prop” while his social media has become dominated by gambling discussion.
