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David Purdum
Michael Porter Jr. says the proliferation of sports activities betting has detracted from the integrity and pleasure of the sport and worries that it is solely going to get worse.
“The enjoyment of the game isn’t for the game anymore,” Porter said on the “One Night with Steiny” podcast this week. “It’s so that people can make money. In reality, way more people are losing money than making money.”
Porter’s youthful brother, Jontay, was banned from the NBA in 2024 for his function in a playing scheme. Jontay Porter admitted in court docket in July 2024 to eradicating himself from two video games throughout the 2023-24 season to profit associates who had wager on the below on his statistics. He mentioned the scheme was designed to repay playing money owed.
Michael Porter Jr., who was traded to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason, referenced his brother’s struggles with playing briefly throughout the podcast look and indicated that he understood how gamers who “come from nothing” may have bother resisting the temptations from sports activities betting.
“Think about it, if you could get all your homies rich by telling them, ‘Yo, bet $10,000 on my under this one game. I’m going to act like I’ve got an injury, and I’m going sit out. I’m going to come out after three minutes,'” Porter mentioned. “And they all get a little bag because you did it one game.
“That is so not OK,” he added, “however some individuals most likely assume like that. They come from nothing, and all their houses don’t have anything.”
Porter said players are in a no-win situation with bettors, because they are always “messing up” either the over or under on prop bets that have become increasingly popular as legal sports betting has spread across the nation.
“We actually do get demise threats,” Porter said, adding that he wonders what would happen if an unhinged gambler physically attacked an athlete.
Porter said he believes sports betting should be restricted to in-person, not online, and only in Las Vegas.
“The complete sports activities playing entity … it is unhealthy and it is solely going to get worse,” he mentioned.