The story

The NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, and Major League Soccer, along with their players' unions, sent a letter Tuesday to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia asking them to ban bettors who harass or threaten athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel, or their families. The letter cited the escalating threat of harassment and violent threats from sports bettors, stating that individuals who lose sports bets too often direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families via social media and in person.

The leagues and unions proposed mandatory lifetime bans for anyone verified to have abusively harassed or issued threats of violence, a streamlined reporting mechanism to transmit evidence to regulators and law enforcement, and requirements that sportsbooks proactively monitor, flag, and ban accounts linked to abusive behavior. Four states, Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wyoming, already have similar policies in place. Last May, then Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers said he received threats on social media to find his kids and murder them after a rough performance. An investigation by Houston police determined an intoxicated bettor overseas was behind the threats.

Women's National Basketball Players' Association executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said it was deeply disappointing the NBA determined WNBA players did not warrant inclusion in the joint position statement, given very public and troubling incidents of betting-related harassment experienced by WNBA members over the past several seasons. The letter comes as the leagues have struck partnership deals with sportsbooks and prediction markets. The NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB, and NHL all have at least one partnership with a sportsbook or prediction market.