Alarming Scale of Abuse of College Athletes Revealed
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Oct 25, 2024
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11:32 a.m.
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There has been a worrying increase in the amount of abuse that college athletes are suffering from fans. The NCAA conducted a study in partnership with Signify Group to evaluate the severity of online harassment that college athletes may be experiencing. Their results were staggering and give harrowing insight into what factors are impacting how society interacts with college athletes in today’s world.
Key findings of NCAA study
The initial study done by the NCAA reviewed over 72,000 out of 1.3 million messages that were flagged by Signify’s Threat Matrix AI tool. These messages were directed at the student-athletes, coaches and officials of Division I championship teams. Out of the 72,000 initial comments, 5,000 posts were found to have abusive, threatening and discriminatory content.
18% of all abuse was of a sexual nature
12% was related to sports betting
19% of sports betting related threats were related to men's basketball and football.
10% of consistent of racists comments
9% of comments were homophobic or transphobic.
6% or approximately 380 instances contained violent threats
80% of the overall abuse in the study was directed at March Madness student-athletes.
This exercise in reviewing the online abuse that student-athletes found that these athletes received the same level of harassment that professional level athletes do. The results included women's volleyball, football, softball, baseball and women’s gymnastics.
Another interesting statistic was that women’s sports received 100% more allegations of cheating than men's sports. These findings of social media abuse were directly related to a decline in the mental health and well-being of student-athletes.
Is legalized sports betting to blame? "Angry sports bettors" a focus of study
The NCAA report found that approximately 12% of online abuse was related to sports betting. This was the second-largest category of abuse recorded in the study and begs the question of how extensive the impact of problematic gambling is.
There were an alarming amount of violent threats made against mens and women’s basketball players and officials during March Madness, which was higher than other categories in the study. Female athletes also experienced 59% more abusive and violent messages regarding betting, compared to their male counterparts. It was found that even sports that are less popular, such as softball, had 25% of abusive messaging related to betting.
What is being done to combat abuse of college athletes?
With all of the information showing the negative impact that online abuse causes student-athletes, measures have to be taken to help protect their well-being on multiple levels. The NCAA recently implemented reform procedures that include expanded mental health support for student athletes. Any school that has a Division I athletic team now has to provide mental health counseling services for athletes and it has to meet the NCAA Mental Health Best Practices standards.
The NCAA also expanded upon its content available to student-athletes to help them learn how to best handle online abuse, threats and the risk of sports betting and gambling in a broad sense as well. Outside of their own initiatives, the NCAA is encouraging social media platforms to be more proactive in identifying abusive content that is directed at student-athletes, coaches and officials and to remove it from their sites.
Additionally, the NCAA has been publicly pushing for a ban on player prop bets in college sports. While a handful of states have taken action to prohibit these wagers that are fully dependent on an individual athlete’s performance, they are still widely available throughout the country.
What gambling-related resources are available to college athletes?
The NCAA has launched an e-learning module that addresses problem gambling and the consequences that sports wagering can have on the integrity of sports. This module is estimated to help educate over 500,000 current and prospective student-athletes.
There are also professional resources available to student-athletes including therapy, support groups and counselors on college campuses. Virtual support is a popular choice among students as it is flexible and convenient to accommodate their busy schedules.
Birches Health offers specialized care for Gambling Addiction and has a wide range of services for those who need support managing their gambling habits.
Birches Health offers:
Individual therapy sessions
Virtual group therapy sessions
Workshops and webinars
Articles, videos and guides on Gambling Addiction and recovery
Self-assessment tests
Coping strategies and relapse prevention techniques
Get started with Birches Health through any of the following options:
You can also contact Birches by calling 833-483-3838 or emailing hello@bircheshealth.com.
