NCAA March Madness Player Abuse From Enraged Sports Bettors Declines

There's some positive news from the NCAA, as the organization overseeing college sports states that occurrences of player abuse decreased during the March Madness tournaments for men and women in 2025. 

In late 2023, the NCAA hired the Signify Group to utilize the company’s Threat Matrix, a system that oversees social media to identify online mistreatment of athletes, coaches, and officials. On Tuesday, the NCAA announced that instances of abuse among all participants concerning sports betting decreased by 23% in 2025.

"One of the first things student-athletes told me when I became NCAA president was that they were being harassed online by people who are following or betting on their games,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said. “From day one, it’s been a priority to study this issue, monitor the public interactions, protect student-athletes, and allow them to focus on being students and competing at the highest level on the court with their teammates.”

Signify reported that it tracked the social media profiles of 2,032 athletes, 346 coaches, 136 teams, and 269 officials and selection committee representatives. Out of over one million posts and comments referencing players, teams, and officials, approximately 55K were marked by Signify AI for additional scrutiny. 

Employees at Signify identified 3,161 comments as either abusive or threatening. The pertinent social media platform and law enforcement, if needed, were informed about those remarks and associated accounts. 

Reduction in Abuse 

In the past few years, numerous student-athletes have indicated experiencing harassment from irate sports gamblers. 

The period of name, image, and likeness, during which college athletes are allowed to earn money while attending school, is believed to have led some furious bettors to believe that it's acceptable to harass a student-athlete. Baker, the ex-governor of Massachusetts who endorsed his state’s sports betting legislation, has prioritized minimizing occurrences of player harassment during his time in the NCAA. 

The NCAA's public service announcement — "Don't Be a Loser" — debuted in March, urging fans and sports bettors to refrain from expressing frustrations toward players, coaches, and officials. It has echoed, as Signify discovered that abuse related to betting decreased by 66% for women and by 36% for men. 

Signify’s surveillance functions and the risk of legal action are also curbing misconduct. 

“We have been encouraged to record a reduction in sports betting-related abuse and threat at the 2025 event, as this is often the trigger for the most egregious and threatening content we detect,” said Jonathan Hirshler, Signify CEO. “By supporting the NCAA in demonstrating that abusers can be identified and will be reported to law enforcement — where criminal thresholds are broken — it is possible to see a deterrent effect in play. 

Police Informed 

Signify's Threat Matrix continuously observes X, Instagram, and TikTok. 

In the March Madness tournaments of 2025, Signify carried out 103 probes into accounts sharing threatening material. Out of those probes, 10 led to Signify notifying law enforcement about the incidents. 

One notable instance involved Chandler Prater, a member of the women’s team at Mississippi State. Following a 96-59 defeat in the regional finals against Southern California, Prater reported instances of online harassment.

"After the game, I received all kinds of messages, so many of them hateful and abusive, and the NCAA and Signify helped to support me and manage the harassment I was receiving,” Prater said. “It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.”

USC was a significant pregame betting favorite at -2200 (implied odds of 95.65%). The Trojans had a 16.5-point advantage.