By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
May 10, 2024
“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity and competition and leading to student athletes and professional athletes getting harassed,” NCAA President Charlie Baker posted on social media March 27. At least two Tar Heel lawmakers are heeding his warning. Rep. Marcia Morey of Durham filed a bill in the House to ban the wagers. An identical bill was filed in the Senate by fellow Democrat Julie Mayfield of Buncombe County.
“What the champions of the sports betting bill repeatedly said when they pushed for its passage, was that they were committed to making sure certain guardrails were in place to protect participants. If there was any sincerity to those promises, then they should vigorously respond in support of measures to prohibit prop bets,” said Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “Prop bets, particularly on collegiate sports, not only threaten the integrity of the games but also place undue mental and emotional stress on young athletes. Any intention by sports gambling champions to let prop bets stand demonstrates their hypocrisy, and their egregious prioritization of profits over people.”
Short for proposition bets, prop bets are not connected to the outcome of a contest, but instead focus on individual players’ stats. For example, an over/under on how many rebounds a specific player will get or how many three-pointers he will make. Such bets on college athletics are illegal in 10 states that allow sports betting; some others limit the wagers or are in the process of enacting bans.
Lincoln County Republican Jason Saine, a lead sponsor of the bill that legalized sports betting in North Carolina, has dismissed the idea of placing any limits on the practice. But Mayfield and Morey say the prop bet ban is necessary to protect athletes such as UNC’s Armando Bacot, who reported being harassed during the NCAA tournament for not getting enough rebounds.
“It’s terrible,” Bacot told the media, saying that he got more than 100 derogatory social media direct messages after one game. His comments helped inspire Morey to introduce the bill, which also would ban in-person wagers at sports facilities for eight hours before or during any college contest.
“We’re forgetting about the individuals who are actually playing the game and having the pressure on them,” Morey, a former U.S. Olympic swimmer, said last month. “Let’s give them a break. … To know in the back of your mind, ‘Oh, well, people are going to watch every stroke, every turn, betting on every move I make,’ it takes away from the thrill of the sport, the enjoyment.”
In March she had posted on X, “It’s time to adjust the sports betting law to disallow ‘prop’ bets on individual player’s performances. Athlete harassment is not worth gamblers’ ire.”
Like Morey, Mayfield opposed the state’s sports betting bill from the get-go.
“I think it’s unconscionable that we allow betting on college and amateur sports at all, but if we are, we should take steps to protect these young athletes as much as we can from gamblers’ bad behavior and from the pressure that comes with knowing their every move has financial consequences for someone,” Mayfield told reporters.
J.D. Wicker, San Diego state athletic director, has spoken out about the problems created by prop bets.
“Our student athletes are going to class, they’re more available in the community,” Wicker told the media. “So there’s a lot more opportunity for one of them to be pressured, for them to have something negative happen because maybe they miss the free throw or they miss the over the under, all those types of things.”
The bills that would ban prop bets in North Carolina, H967 and S788, were filed on May 1 and would take effect July 1. Betting in brick-and-mortar facilities has not yet started, but is expected to launch later this year. The home of NC State’s men’s basketball team, PNC Arena is one of the approved venues that would be affected by the eight-hour window in the bills. Others could include Bank of America Stadium, where some college football games are played, and Spectrum Center, where college basketball tournaments are often held.
Approved last year, mobile sports betting began in North Carolina in March. During the first few weeks, gamblers bet almost $660 million. An NCAA survey revealed that 58 percent of 18- to 22-year-olds are gambling.
