'Weirdo' fan who harassed Olympic star Gabby Thomas handed punishment over abusive behavior
The 'weirdo' fan who harassed Gabby Thomas at a meet and took credit for his own parlay winning has reportedly been banned by FanDuel.
While at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia over the weekend, Olympic gold medalist Thomas was subjected to verbal abuse from one heckler, who called her a 'choke artist' and even referenced her having a white husband.
The man later bragged about his behavior, as he posted video of the incident and screengrabs of two parlays - one worth $1,000 - in which he bet against Thomas.
Thomas later criticized the man for his actions, saying on X that he hurled 'personal insults' at her and followed her around the track.
Now, FanDuel has confirmed to ESPN that the bettor is banned from the platform.
'FanDuel condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes,' a FanDuel spokesperson told the website.
She won three gold medals in Paris last summer as she represented Team USA
'Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel.'
As seen in the man's screenshots, he bet on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win the 100m race in Philly in two separate bets.
Thomas ultimately finished fourth in the 100m.
Following Thomas' post on X criticizing the heckler, legendary sprinter and Grand Slam Track Commissioner Michael Johnson responded to her troubling claims and said the organization was investigating the incident.
'So sorry you had to experience this Gabby!,' he said. 'We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. Despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated.'
Thomas added in a subsequent post that she 'wasn't even going to tweet about it but [did] since he's bragging.'
In another online reply, Thomas actually said that 'the heckling is tolerable, it's following me around the stadium that's wild.'
She also added that, aside from the heckler, 'overall the fans and spectators at this meet were the absolute best!'
Unfortunately, Thomas has experienced other forms of harassment this year as well.
In January, she said that a group of men were following her around at airports.
Thomas claimed in a TikTok that the men have asked her to sign pictures, and act 'aggressive and hostile' when she rebuffs them.
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