WNBA players have increasingly borne the brunt of online harassment and digital abuse from disgruntled bettors whose wagers were busted by a game’s outcome. So it came as a surprise when the group claiming to be “the five largest professional sports leagues and players associations” decided to exclude the WNBA from a memo that called for action against such bettors. Naturally, this drew an immediate reaction from WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson.

Colin Salao of Front Office Sports reported on X that in a statement to FOS, Carmichael spoke about her frustration with the manner in which the matter has been dealt with.

“It is deeply disappointing that, given the very public and troubling incidents of betting-related harassment experienced by our members over the past several seasons, the NBA determined that WNBA players did not warrant inclusion in a joint position statement intended to address this very issue,” Terri Carmichael Jackson said to FOS.

The memo was sent by a coalition of major men’s professional sports leagues to the State Gaming Commissions and Regulatory Authorities on Tuesday, September 15, expressing growing concern over the gambling-fueled harassment directed at their athletes. But the WNBA was not part of this group, which included the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS.

“Threatening the safety of an athlete or their family members over a sports bet crosses a bright ethical and criminal line, and it is entirely unacceptable,” the memo read.

In recent months, there have been instances where WNBA players were targeted by individuals disgruntled with their betting outcomes. In one such instance, Minnesota guard Courtney Williams called out a toxic bettor in July who flooded her Instagram inbox with an expletive-laden tirade when a bet on her box score failed to hit. The same month, Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray took to Instagram to reveal an account that directed a racial slur at her. The individual in question was later terminated from Hilton Grand Vacations, where they were previously employed.

Even Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud joined the conversation. She has publicly called for better safety measures amid the rise in sports betting and the subsequent online abuse directed at players. She called on both NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the WNBA commissioner, asking for their intervention.

“So for both Adam and Cathy, there still has to be dialogue around this as our leagues continue to expand and as we continue to navigate what this betting world is,” Cloud told FOS. “Cause we want to be in it; it’s great for our league, but also within it, we have to be protected as human beings when we take these jerseys off.”

New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones also added her voice to the chorus, urging league leadership to take meaningful action against the barrage of online hostility from sports bettors directed at players.

“With sports betting, I think the type of comments that we’re getting online has been horrendous,” Jones said last month. “We have to find a way to protect players.”

The online hate and abuse against female athletes have not been limited to just the WNBA. Earlier this year, after the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team’s Final Four loss to the University of South Carolina, there was a barrage of hateful, racially motivated online comments directed at the Huskies’ players. One user posted a particularly hateful comment on the Huskies’ Instagram page.

“Y’all sorry m************ gonna go win 54 straight and I throw money on y’all and proceed to turn into a 2A JV girls basketball team.”

There was also a noted surge in sports betting-induced online abuse during the women’s March Madness in 2024. This was the peak of the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese collegiate career rivalry, which in turn fueled the record-shattering television ratings.

But that limelight came at the cost of digital abuse. According to a September 10 report by Capital News Service, female athletes faced nearly thrice as much online abuse as their male counterparts during that year’s NCAA tournaments. 30% of women athletes reported that gambling-fueled harassment actively eroded their enjoyment of the sport they are playing, per a 2026 NCAA survey.

So while other leagues are also at risk, the WNBA has been facing significant distress due to the extent of online abuse they are facing. Excluding the league from the memo clearly did not sit well with WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson.

In light of the recent increase in betting-related online abuse, stakeholders are adopting different approaches to tackle this issue, with the WNBA establishing a team.

What Has Been the Response From the WNBA and the State Regulators on This Issue?

The WNBA and commissioner Cathy Engelbert have remained cognizant of this issue. Seeking to address escalating safety concerns, Engelbert and WNBA security representatives met in July to review and upgrade athlete security strategies.

Then, in August, the WNBA’s “anti-hate” task force met, and several issues were discussed, online hate directed at players being one of them.

“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online. We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months,” read the league statement after the meeting.

Last year, the WNBA also introduced the ‘No Space For Hate’ campaign with support from the WNBPA. This initiative was stated to use AI-based software to monitor social media activity in order to protect players from hate speech. The statement from the WNBA elaborated on the campaign’s main aim.

“A multi-dimensional platform designed to combat hate and promote respect across all WNBA spaces — from online discourse to in-arena behavior.”

While there is no clear-cut policy at the federal and league levels, different state oversight agencies are adopting responses that they see fit.

For example, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission launched an initiative, “Bet on Respect”, a dedicated reporting mechanism designed for athletes, venues, college programs, and sports governing bodies to flag instances of harassment.

Under state regulation 205 CMR 152, individuals who intentionally threaten or harass athletes risk placement on Massachusetts’ involuntary exclusion list. All licensed sportsbook operators across the state are mandated to uphold the ban, though barred bettors retain a 30-day window to appeal the decision.

So it remains to be seen whether the demand by the WNBA and Terri Carmichael to have a seat at the table is heeded or not. No group can convey the entire picture if a women’s league representative, such as the WNBA, is excluded from the conversation, especially in the wake of increasing online abuse directed at women players.