The saying “bet on yourself” means to have confidence in your abilities to make bold career moves, proving your worth through your performance. But some athletes are taking the “betting” part of the saying a little too literally.
Sports betting has been taking more than money from athletes; it’s taking their livelihood in the game they once loved just for a couple of bucks. Whether it is a small bet on a Knicks-Celtics game or any at all, sports betting is cruel for any professional athlete, yet some do it anyway.
Since 2018, sports betting revenue has grown exponentially from $430 million in 2018 to $11.04 billion in 2023, according to Statista. In the age of sports betting, there are various gambling apps right on your phone, making the accessibility irresistible. That pull is not just getting your random Joe; it’s getting athletes, with some even worsening their stats to win parlays.
Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter is one of the most prominent athletes to get caught in sports gambling. Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., has been in the NBA since 2020 after going undrafted in 2019 out of Missouri University.
According to ESPN, the NBA gambling statement states that anyone affiliated with the NBA — players or employees — cannot bet on the NBA or any of its properties. That includes the NBA, summer league, WNBA, G-League, Basketball Africa League or NBA2K League.
In late March 2024, the NBA launched an investigation into Porter after sportsbooks noticed irregular betting on the over/under on the reserve center’s statistics in two Raptors games. Porter disclosed confidential information to betters, limited his participation in at least one game while he was with the Raptors, and bet on NBA games while playing in the G League, according to ESPN.
In one of the games, Porter gave out information against the Clippers on Jan. 26, 2024, where he left the game after four minutes with issues relating to his eyes, which was the same injury he suffered from the week prior against the Memphis Grizzlies. He finished the Clippers game under the player props given to him for points, rebounds and assists.
The subsequent bets that Porter placed ranged from $15 – $22,000, totaling $54,094, with the total winnings being $76,059. Porter threw away the opportunity to continue his basketball career for an extra $21,000, which was 4% of his contract at the time with the Raptors. Porter is now facing 41-51 months in prison due to his actions.
Other players, such as Tennessee Titans receiver Calvin Ridley, Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto, have been suspended by their respective leagues for sports betting. But these suspensions aren’t limited to individual athletes; university teams have also faced consequences. Notre Dame’s men’s swim team and now the Fresno State men’s basketball team have been either suspended or banned because of sports betting.
Thirty-seven swimmers of the 2023-2024 Notre Dame men’s swimming team had to find new schools to swim at after 25 of them — 60% — were found to be violating NCAA rules by wagering among themselves on the results of their competitions.
The women’s swimming and diving teams and the men’s diving team were not a part of the betting. With the full men’s swimming team off campus, the 2024-25 team did have two men’s divers who competed this year.
The 25 swimmers were involved in several betting schemes based on their times and placements in their meets or the well-known betting games such as the Super Bowl and March Madness basketball tournament games.
One of those Notre Dame swimmers was Olympian Chris Guiliano and many other athletes went through an extensive interview process, discussing the investigation and the team culture. The swimmers were then encouraged to hand over their phones for a screening of their group chats, Venmo and iMessage history, according to Guiliano on a SwimSwam podcast.
This serves as a tale that even a small bet placed can lead you to get kicked off campus, and you have to transfer schools. Guiliano transferred to Texas after earning a gold medal in the 4×100 free relay and a silver medal in the 4×200 free relay at the Paris Olympics.
Notre Dame men’s swimming will return to campus in the 2025-26 season, but not before tearing the team apart after its first top-10 finish at the NCAA championships in March 2024.
More recently, both Fresno State’s and New Orleans’ men’s basketball teams have had multiple athletes suspended over gambling allegations in the past week.
Three Fresno State players, Mykell Robinson, Jalean Weaver and Zaon Collins, were taken off of the team because of their involvement in sports gambling. Collins has since returned to the Bulldogs lineup but not after being away from the program for their Feb. 18 matchup with San Diego State and their March 1 date with Boise State.
Similarly to Porter, Weaver risked $50 that he would score more than 11 points on the fantasy site Sleeper. He finished with 13 points in a 103-89 loss to New Mexico State on Dec. 31.
Four New Orleans’ players, James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent, have not played since Jan. 27 due to gambling suspensions from the team.
Sports betting’s rise in accessibility has made it easier than ever for athletes to risk their careers and reputations for a quick payout. As more cases like Fresno State and Notre Dame come to the surface, betting on yourself means trusting your skills, not your parlays.
