LOS ANGELES — As NCAA President Charlie Baker calls for a ban on prop bets on college athletes, North Carolina star Armando Bacot admitted that he’s gotten messages from angry bettors mad at his performance in games.
‘It’s terrible,’ Bacot said. ‘Even at the last game, I guess I didn’t get enough rebounds or something. I thought I played pretty good last game, but I looked at my DMs, and I got, like, over 100 messages from people telling me I sucked and stuff like that because I didn’t get enough rebounds.
‘I think it’s definitely a little out of hand. But at the same time too, I get the point of it. Like, if you bet a lot of money on something, and you’re, like, one pick away and somebody messes it up, I understand the part of fans being mad. But it’s annoying, too, at times,’ Bacot added.
Bacot scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds in North Carolina’s second-round win against Michigan State, which set up Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup against Alabama.
His comments came the same day Baker called for a ban on collegiate prop bets, which are bets that are placed on specific athletes that typically involve an over/under related to their stats. Baker’s request came after the NBA launched an investigation into Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter over betting irregularities involving prop bets this season.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
‘Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes getting harassed,” Baker said in a statement on social media. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”
Bacot wasn’t the only person Wednesday to comment on the ugly side of sports betting. Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said earlier in the day the team has gotten phone calls in its office and it’s something that ‘worries me tremendously.’
‘People are extremely aggressive these days,’ Brownell said. ‘We get phone calls in our office sometimes. When things obviously don’t go a bettor’s way, we get some nasty calls. I know players probably get that through social media.
‘It’s a really unique time with everything going on in college athletics, and now the gambling piece is a whole other log on the fire.’
No. 6 seed Clemson will play No. 2 seed Arizona in the West Region Sweet 16 on Thursday. That game will be followed by No. 1 seed North Carolina vs. No. 4 seed Alabama.