Gabby Thomas calls out Grand Slam Track heckler who bragged about winning bets, with league investigating
U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas has called out a man who heckled her and bragged about his betting results throughout a Grand Slam Track event this weekend.
Thomas, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, participated in two sprinting events at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia as part of the Michael Johnson-founded track league's inaugural season. Thomas finished in second in the 200-meter sprint and fourth in the 100-meter.
Advertisement
After Thomas posted a recap of the weekend on X, the heckler, who uses the username "Mr 100K a day" on X, commented on the post, bragging that his taunts towards Thomas made her lose the race and including screenshots of his successful parlay bets on FanDuel Sportsbook.
"I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," he wrote in the comment, with a video of him harrassing Thomas as she lined up for one of the events.
Soon after that comment was posted, Thomas quickly pointed out the man's behavior.
"This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults," Thomas said in a post on X, in response to the user's comment. "Anybody who enables him online is gross."
Advertisement
In response to a comment on her post, Thomas commented that she hadn't planned on calling the heckler out but changed her mind "since he's bragging."
Grand Slam Track told Front Office Sports that it is investigating the user.
"Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the league told Front Office Sports in a statement. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated."
The user's screenshots indicated that he had won more than $2,000 in total off two parlays, where he bet on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win the 100m. In the video, the man could be heard calling Thomas a "choke job" and referenced the fact that Thomas, who is Black, was engaged to a white man, while Jefferson-Wooden, who is also Black, had married a Black man earlier this year.
Advertisement
In addition to the comment under Thomas' post, the user posted the same video and screenshots in a separate post hours earlier, thanking Jefferson-Wooden for helping him win his bet.
"I want to thank mellissa jefferson (sic) for beating the crap out of gabby thomas at Grand Slam Track and getting me rich!!!!" he wrote.
The user tagged Thomas, Jefferson-Wooden and Grand Slam Track in the post.
In another post from Sunday, the user posted an interaction between him and Thomas where the sprinter asked "What are you doing here?" and jokingly called him a "heckler."
The user captioned the video with a similar message. "Nice to heckle gabby thomas today and make her lose," he said, once again tagging both Thomas and Grand Slam Track. "It was my pleasure."
Advertisement
Thomas noted in a comment on X that she had a line when it came to the user's behavior. "I think heckling is tolerable… but following me around the stadium is weird in my opinion," she said.
The user, in a direct message with USA TODAY on X, disputed Thomas' claim that he was following her around the stadium. The user also gave the outlet a fake name when asked for his name and where he lived, and said that he lives in Puerto Rico.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Controversial boxer Imane Khelif skipping competition following World Boxing's new mandatory sex testing
Imane Khelif, the boxer at the center of the Olympic gender controversy, is skipping a boxing tournament in the Netherlands after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes. The Algerian boxer, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid scrutiny over her eligibility, did not register in time for the event before applications closed on Thursday. Khelif had intended to return to international competition at the tournament in Hotel Eindhoven before World Boxing announced its new sex testing policy last Friday. Eindhoven Mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem criticized World Boxing's decision. 'As far as we are concerned, all athletes are welcome in Eindhoven. Excluding athletes based on controversial 'gender tests' certainly does not fit in with that,' Dijsselbloem wrote in a letter addressed to the Dutch Boxing Federation and International Boxing Federation. 'We are expressing our disapproval of this decision today and are calling on the organization to admit Imane Khelif after all.' 3 Wire Sports, citing medical documents from chromosome tests given by the International Boxing Association (IBA) before the 2022 and 2023 world championships, reported that Khelif's DNA showed 'markers with male karyotypes.' The International Olympic Committee (IOC) derecognized the IBA amid concerns about the organization's governance, financial reliance on Russian state energy firm Gazprom and integrity of the bouts. 5 Imane Khelif celebrated victory against Anna Luca Hamori after the Women's 66kg Quarter-final round match on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Getty Images 5 Khelif seemingly tried to comfort Italy's Angela Carini after their women's 66kg preliminary boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics. AP 'Chromosome analysis reveals Male karyotype. No numerical or chromosomal anomalies detected at 450-550 banding resolution,' a screenshot of the document on 3 Wire Sports read. The test was at an accredited lab in New Delhi, called Dr. Lal PathLabs, before the boxing championships, according to 3 Wire Sports. Fox News Digital reached out to World Boxing, the Algerian Olympic Committee and reps for Khelif for comment. The IOC issued a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning. 'The IOC has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation,' the IOC said. 'The factors that matter to sports performance are unique to each sport, discipline, and/or event. We await the full details how sex testing will be implemented in a safe, fair and legally enforceable way.' 5 Khelif won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. AFP via Getty Images Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 championships before a gold medal bout over gender eligibility issues. The boxer was thrust into the global spotlight after qualifying for the Olympics, with the gender controversy coming to light. Khelif defeated Angela Carini in the initial fight during the Paris Olympics, and the IOC defended Khelif. As the controversy grew, Khelif kept on winning and eventually was awarded a gold medal. But the IBA doubled down, saying Khelif – along with Taiwan's Lin Yu-thing – were disqualified from the world championships due to 'a result of their failure to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women's competition, as set and laid out in the IBA Regulations. 5 The boxer was thrust into the global spotlight after qualifying for the Olympics AP This decision, made after a meticulous review, was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.' The IBA added that Khelif underwent two tests: one in 2022 and the other in 2023. The IBA said Khelif appealed the decision to the Court for Arbitration of Sport but withdrew during the process, making the 'IBA decision legally binding.' Throughout the controversy, Khelif has maintained that their gender is female. Khelif even filed a lawsuit against detractors and critics on social media. 5 Khelif had intended to return to international competition at the tournament before World Boxing announced its new sex testing policy last Friday. REUTERS Before World Boxing made its decision, Khelif was planning on participating in the 2028 Olympics despite President Donald Trump's 'No Men in Women's Sports' executive order – the 2028 games take place in Los Angeles. Khelif told ITV that the policies do not apply to the boxer. 'I will give you a straightforward answer: the U.S. president issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response,' Khelif told the outlet. 'For me, I see myself as a girl, just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one.' Fox News' Ryan Gaydos, Jackson Thompson, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
2 hours ago
LA28 organizers confident Trump's latest travel ban won't affect Los Angeles Olympics
LOS ANGELES -- Planning and preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has made 'significant progress' and organizers on Thursday expressed confidence that President Donald Trump's latest travel ban won't prevent games participants from entering the U.S. 'It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration and I actually want to thank the federal government for recognizing that,' LA28 chairman and president Casey Wasserman said during a news conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center. 'It's very clear that the federal government understands that that's an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for,' he said. 'We have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward through the games.' International Olympic Committee member Nicole Hoevertsz, who is chair of the Coordination Commission for LA28, anticipates the U.S. government will cooperate, as it did in hosting previous Olympics. 'That is something that we will be definitely looking at and making sure that it is guaranteed as well,' she said. 'We are very confident that this is going to be accomplished. I'm sure this is going to be executed well.' Sixteen IOC members wrapped up a three-day visit Thursday, having inspected multiple venue locations, including Dodger Stadium where they attended a Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Dodgers. The IOC's Coordination Commission was last in the city in November. 'We've seen significant progress,' Hoevertsz said. 'We leave the city very confident with the road ahead.' Noting the games are 1,135 days from opening on July 14, 2028, Wasserman said, "We are in delivery mode now.' Saturday marks the six-month anniversary of the start of the deadly wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades on the city's west side and the community of Altadena, northeast of downtown. 'In California, there are some obvious things you should be prepared for — earthquakes, wildfires,' Wasserman said. 'You certainly hope that they never happen, but shame on us if we're not prepared for any and every kind of eventuality because that is our job.' Reynold Hoover, who runs the day-to-day work of LA28 as its CEO, said contingency planning is ongoing. 'The wildfires gave us an opportunity within the organization to think a little bit differently about how we're structured and how we impact the community and how we think about sustainability,' he said. From a financial standpoint, Wasserman said he's 'incredibly confident' the games will turn a profit. 'Frankly, losing money is not really an option for us. We understand that while there is a backstop from the city, that is not something we ever intend to get close to,' he said. 'We have built our entire delivery to be tracked against the revenue we create, which is why we are being so aggressive, and have been for a long time, on generating as much revenue as possible.' Wasserman said LA28 is 'well over" 60% in contracted revenue.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jefferson, Harrisburg win at state softball
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Jefferson and Harrisburg were among the teams that claimed wins in the class 'AA' state tournament on Thursday. The Cavaliers used timely offense and clutch defense in their quarterfinal victory. Jefferson beat Brandon Valley 3-0. Harrisburg showed off their bats in their win. The Tigers scored five in the first, three in the second and seven in the third to claim the 15-0 mercy rule win over O'Gorman. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
