NFL

Some of the top sports leagues across the United States, along with their respective player’s unions, sent a memo to gambling regulators across the country on Tuesday concerning harassment and violent threats from sports bettors, per ESPN.

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The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS all released a joint letter, sent to regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia, proposing legislation that would lead to a lifetime ban from sportsbooks for individuals who «harass or threaten professional or amateur athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel or their families.»

In response, however, not only did women’s sports leagues express disappointment they were not included in the letter, but sports fans on social media criticized the leagues for neglecting their own partnerships with gambling platforms.

Here’s what to know about the proposal by the five sports leagues and why it was criticized.

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NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS write letter to gambling regulators

ESPN reported on Tuesday that the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, Major League Soccer and their respective players’ unions all sent a joint letter to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

The letter urged for an effort to «combat escalating harassment and violent threats from sports bettors,» proposing that individuals who harass or threaten athletes, coaches, their families, etc. to be banned from sports gambling for life.

Per ESPN, the leagues and their unions «want states to establish a streamlined reporting mechanism,» which would allow evidence of the harassment and/or threats to be sent to regulators and law enforcement directly. Then, «anyone found to have violated the policy would be placed on a sportsbook exclusion list shared among states.»

«Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families via social media and in-person interactions,» the leagues’ letter states. «Threatening the safety of an athlete or their family members over a sports bet crosses a bright ethical and criminal line, and it is entirely unacceptable.»

There are already four states (Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Wyoming) that have similar policies, per ESPN. Additionally, sportsbooks like DraftKings and Fanatics have partnered with Integrity Compliance 360, a platform that uses AI and «investigative tools to detect social media abuse and identify the people behind it.»

WNBA, women’s leagues express disappointment at not being included in letter

Front Office Sports then reported Tuesday that the WNBA union found it «deeply disappointing” that the NBA didn’t include the women’s basketball league in the memo to gambling regulators.

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According to The Athletic, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association also said it learned of the letter after it was published.

“The NWSLPA supports efforts to protect professional athletes in both men’s and women’s sports from harassment and violent threats of all kinds for all reasons, including those of the kind driven by sports betting,” NWSLPA Executive Director Meghann Burke said, per The Athletic.

Fans criticize sports league’s letter

After the letter from sports leagues was shared to social media, sports fans were quick to criticize the leagues for a double-standard.

When ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared the memo on X, the social media platform attached a context label that read: «Every league listed here has ‘official sports betting partners’ (i.e. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, etc.), which has led directly to these leagues excessively promoting sports gambling and thus causing the rise in betting-related harassment of athletes.»

Others, whether through memes or looks back at how sports used to be, called out the sports leagues for promoting sports gambling but also trying to keep it contained.

Wonder what changed https://t.co/XWe2LTKtdI pic.twitter.com/pkwlfiSFjw

— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) September 15, 2026

I wonder who’s been actively promoting this degeneracy? https://t.co/gRiUufVJ7V pic.twitter.com/2Sdch71GSG

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) September 15, 2026

Idea, just a thought, spitballing here even.

While I do not condone this loser behavior, have you considered that cramming betting down fans’ throats in every second of the broadcast/in-game experience might be a large part of problem? Practice what you preach kinda vibe? https://t.co/Wt2fHj2gRJ

— Brett Marshall (@B_Marsh92) September 15, 2026

This press release is brought to you by Kalshi, Polymarket, DraftKings, and any other prediction market’s money that pro sports leagues couldn’t refuse https://t.co/jqsKTCbcXk

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— christan (no i), ß (@ChristanWNBA) September 15, 2026

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