Congress demands changes to MLB policy amid Bryce Harper-FanDuel scandal
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz react to Congress members urging MLB to make changes to its gambling policy amid a recent controversy involving Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper and FanDuel. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
Lawmakers target MLB's sportsbook deals after Bryce Harper video used by FanDuel to thank gambling addict.
We are now at the point, according to the LA Times, that US lawmakers are demanding an end to allowing player endorsements for sportsbooks.
FanDuel used a personalized message from Bryce Harper as a VIP reward for a bettor that they got through Cameo.
Now the bettor is suing over a gambling addiction.
Is Congress right to get involved, in your mind, here?
S- Feel two different ways on this.
I do agree with the idea that Congress should get involved in having athletes as endorsers for sportsbooks.
There's something that just feels wrong a- and icky about that to me, the same way that I think it's wrong and icky that Adam Schefter, who is the collector and distributor of so much sensitive information in the NFL, is an investor into a, in another sportsbook and betting platform.
That's wrong to me.
I think that an athlete who also has access to injury information, information that can impact the sportsbooks one way or another, is getting paid by the sportsbook and is a face of the sportsbook.
You know, we have b- I- it is not that long ago that we had an NBA gambling investigation scandal that involved several players and coaches in a point-shaving scandal.
It was not that long ago that we had the best player in baseball's translator betting millions of dollars and betting at an incredibly high rate.
We've had so many scandals in sports gambling over the last several years that it just feels wrong, it feels very icky to me that we have so much intimate investment between athletes, coaches, and sportsbooks.
So I, I don't disagree with the idea that Congress is pushing to have a separation between athletes and coaches and sportsbooks.
Now, with this specific instance, though, there is nobody to blame in this situation other than the gambler himself.
It is incredibly unfortunate that he's dealing with a gambling addiction, and I hope that he has been getting the, the help and the treatment that he needs in order to overcome this addiction.
Addiction is an incredibly scary and difficult thing to navigate, and I hope he's taking care of himself.
It is not Bryce Harper's fault, though, that he was asked by the sportsbook to make this video and they sent it to the, to the bettor.
You know, I do think it is wrong and it is icky on behalf of FanDuel that i- if Bryce Harper is telling the truth and he did not in fact know what he was taping the commercial for, then that is wrong on FanDuel.
FanDuel does need to be explicit and totally and completely transparent in all of the, the business dealings and all of their, you know, e- endorser communication.
But at the end of the day, each individual is responsible for his or h- herself.
