Source: Eakin Howard / Getty
If you thought the lowest point in sports betting could be professional athletes getting caught in illegal schemes, it’s only getting worse.
Now, gamblers are approaching players in the streets over their habits, which led to a Golden State Warriors star getting an earful.
In a video posted to social media Sunday night, a man driving in an unknown city catches Jimmy Butler walking down the street and immediately starts roasting his outfit.
“Green apple looking ahh,” the bettor said, commenting on Butler’s sweatsuit while gripping a cup of Big Face coffee. “Stupid big ahh. Timbs on. Jimmy Butler, man. They don’t give a f-ck you in their city. Look at him.”
After screaming his name, the 6-foot-6 star strolls near the car before the driver rips him for a recent stat line because he bet several thousand dollars on him.
“Bro, I put $3,000 to win 30. Why you ain’t have 30 points? Jimmy Butler, why you didn’t have the 30 points? You were supposed to go OVER b-tch. You work for Vegas?”
Butler doesn’t outright respond to the screaming man, but appears to acknowledge him and ultimately decides to walk away.
If the man really was hoping for a $30,000 payout, it was likely a parlay rather than a prop bet. Either way, betting that much for Butler to score over 30 points wasn’t a wise decision because he’s only done that once this season, especially while his Warriors are in the middle of a six-game road trip.
Still, Butler has had a solid season so far, averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
The outburst is just the latest example of how legalized sports betting is muddying the integrity of the game and even fans’ interactions with players.
NBPA Vice President Jaylen Brown spoke out about the league not taking proper precautions to protect players in light of the gambling scandal involving Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier.
“They’re like, ‘You make X amount of money or X, Y, and Z, you should be able to deal with all the extra negativity, the people approaching you about the parlays,'” Brown said last month. “It creates a negative discourse around the game and players when people have money involved. … It’s leading to situations that we can avoid if more conversations were had right now.”
See how social media is reacting to Jimmy Butler’s run-in with an overzealous fan below.
Jimmy Butler Called A “B-tch” By Unhinged Sports Bettor Over Failed Parlay was originally published on cassiuslife.com
