Latest news with #heckling
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Betting site bans individual over heckling incident with Olympic champion sprinter Gabby Thomas
A sports bettor who heckled Olympic champion sprinter Gabby Thomas during a Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia over the weekend has been banned by the betting site FanDuel Sportsbook. In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, FanDuel wrote it 'condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes. Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel.' Last weekend, Thomas finished fourth in a 100-meter race won by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The bettor wrote in a post on social media that he 'made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.' He posted a picture of his parlay that had Jefferson-Wooden winning the 100. Thomas, the 200-meter champion at the Paris Games last summer, explained the heckling incident on X. She wrote: 'This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults – anybody who enables him online is gross.' Grand Slam Track, a track league launched by Hall of Fame sprinter Michael Johnson this spring, wrote in a statement it was 'conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. '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.' ESPN first reported the bettor had been banned by FanDuel. The Grand Slam Track season wraps up with the fourth and final meet in Los Angeles on June 28-29. The Thomas incident is the latest in a string of stalking and abuse of female athletes. Frida Karlsson, a Swedish cross-country skiing world champion, recently brought her experience with stalking into public view when she went through a trial. A man in his 60s was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay 40,000 kronor ($4,100) in damages after being convicted of stalking Karlsson for a year and four months, according to Swedish news agency TT. The man, according to the indictment, called Karlsson 207 times, left her voicemails and text messages and approached her, including outside her apartment. In February, police in the United Arab Emirates detained a man who caused British tennis player Emma Raducanu distress by exhibiting ' fixated behavior ' toward her at a tennis tournament. Raducanu had been approached by the man at the Dubai Championships where he left her a note, took her photograph and engaged in behavior that caused her distress, according to the government of Dubai's media office.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Betting site bans individual over heckling incident with Olympic champion sprinter Gabby Thomas
A sports bettor who heckled Olympic champion sprinter Gabby Thomas during a Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia over the weekend has been banned by the betting site FanDuel Sportsbook. In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, FanDuel wrote it 'condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes. Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel.' Last weekend, Thomas finished fourth in a 100-meter race won by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The bettor wrote in a post on social media that he 'made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.' He posted a picture of his parlay that had Jefferson-Wooden winning the 100. Thomas, the 200-meter champion at the Paris Games last summer, explained the heckling incident on X. She wrote: 'This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults – anybody who enables him online is gross.' Grand Slam Track, a track league launched by Hall of Fame sprinter Michael Johnson this spring, wrote in a statement it was 'conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. '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.' ESPN first reported the bettor had been banned by FanDuel. The Grand Slam Track season wraps up with the fourth and final meet in Los Angeles on June 28-29. The Thomas incident is the latest in a string of stalking and abuse of female athletes. Frida Karlsson, a Swedish cross-country skiing world champion, recently brought her experience with stalking into public view when she went through a trial. A man in his 60s was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay 40,000 kronor ($4,100) in damages after being convicted of stalking Karlsson for a year and four months, according to Swedish news agency TT. The man, according to the indictment, called Karlsson 207 times, left her voicemails and text messages and approached her, including outside her apartment. In February, police in the United Arab Emirates detained a man who caused British tennis player Emma Raducanu distress by exhibiting ' fixated behavior ' toward her at a tennis tournament. Raducanu had been approached by the man at the Dubai Championships where he left her a note, took her photograph and engaged in behavior that caused her distress, according to the government of Dubai's media office.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Betting site bans individual over heckling incident with Olympic champion sprinter Gabby Thomas
A sports bettor who heckled Olympic champion sprinter Gabby Thomas during a Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia over the weekend has been banned by the betting site FanDuel Sportsbook. In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, FanDuel wrote it 'condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes. Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel.' Last weekend, Thomas finished fourth in a 100-meter race won by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The bettor wrote in a post on social media that he 'made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.' He posted a picture of his parlay that had Jefferson-Wooden winning the 100. Thomas, the 200-meter champion at the Paris Games last summer, explained the heckling incident on X. She wrote: 'This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults – anybody who enables him online is gross.' Grand Slam Track, a track league launched by Hall of Fame sprinter Michael Johnson this spring, wrote in a statement it was 'conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. '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.' ESPN first reported the bettor had been banned by FanDuel. The Grand Slam Track season wraps up with the fourth and final meet in Los Angeles on June 28-29. The Thomas incident is the latest in a string of stalking and abuse of female athletes. Frida Karlsson, a Swedish cross-country skiing world champion, recently brought her experience with stalking into public view when she went through a trial. A man in his 60s was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay 40,000 kronor ($4,100) in damages after being convicted of stalking Karlsson for a year and four months, according to Swedish news agency TT. The man, according to the indictment, called Karlsson 207 times, left her voicemails and text messages and approached her, including outside her apartment. In February, police in the United Arab Emirates detained a man who caused British tennis player Emma Raducanu distress by exhibiting ' fixated behavior ' toward her at a tennis tournament. Raducanu had been approached by the man at the Dubai Championships where he left her a note, took her photograph and engaged in behavior that caused her distress, according to the government of Dubai's media office.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas slams ‘sick' heckler for shouting disparaging, racial comments during meet
Gabby Thomas confronted a heckler online after a man posted multiple videos on social media that showed him shouting disparaging remarks, including racial comments, directed at the three-time Olympic gold medalist at a recent track event. He claimed the heckling helped him win an online wager. Thomas competed at a Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia over the weekend, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint and fourth in the 100-meter sprint. But her performance was seemingly overshadowed by the chaos that unfolded at the track. A man on X posted a video that appeared to show him in the stands near the starting line shouting several messages at Thomas. "Don't choke, Gabby, like you did yesterday," he says in the video he posted online. "You a choke artist. You going down, Gabby." The man in the video can also be heard criticizing Thomas for being engaged to a "White guy." He posted the video on X, claiming, "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win." He also posted a screenshot of a $1,000 wager placed on FanDuel. "This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults- anybody who enables him online is gross," she said in response to the man's post. Thomas responded to other users on social media claiming the man "pulled out his phone to harass and record me." "It's fine he's just sick. But that's just my opinion, let it go," she added in the same post. The man posted another video and other posts countering Thomas' claims. In the video, Thomas appears to respond to him by asking, "What are you doing here?" Thomas then walks away smiling before making a heart gesture with her hands. Grand Slam Track released a statement to Front Office Sports after those events announcing it was investigating the heckler for "reprehensible behavior." "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," spokesperson Callum Squires said 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." FanDuel also told ESPN the bettor has been banned from using its platform. "FanDuel condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes," a spokesperson told the outlet. "Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel." Despite the interaction, Thomas posted another message on X thanking her supporters. "Grateful beyond words for the love and support!! Especially this week. My supporters remind me why I keep showing up. Thank you, truly." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
FanDuel bans man who heckled sprinter Gabby Thomas
June 4 - FanDuel said it has banned a bettor for heckling U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas at a recent track competition. The man boasted online that his actions "made Gabby lose" and helped him win a $1,000 parlay bet on FanDuel. Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, posted on X that the man "followed me around the track" in Philadelphia last weekend and "shouted personal insults." Grand Slam Track, who staged the event, said it is conducting an investigation into the "reprehensible behavior." "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary," Grand Slam Track said, per ESPN. "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 bettor refers to himself online as "The Track and Field Bully." FanDuel confirmed it had informed the customer he is banned from its platform. "FanDuel condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes," a FanDuel spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. "Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel." Thomas, 28, won gold medals in the 200-meter dash and 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays at the 2024 Paris Summer Games. --Field Level Media
