Over the last few years, sports have become an even bigger presence in the United States, with tons states allowing the public to gamble legally on sporting events. While many handle gambling responsibly, some do not, and that can lead to some harsh words directed at teams and individual players themselves.
Professional players from various sports have taken to social media or interviews to speak on the subject, with many receiving death threats because they were the cause of the losing parlay. It is not the way to go about things, and more and more players are starting to speak out on it.
The San Diego Padres and Fernando Tatis Jr. have been dealing with this for a while now. The three-time All-Star opens up about the situation and how he handles it internally, as reported by Annie Heilbrunn of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“You really don’t try to pay attention to it,” said Tatis. “But at the same time, in the back of your head, you’re like, ‘Wow. People are really wishing death to yourself and to your family.’ And it’s pretty (messed) up. It’s not fun. It’s not fun at all.”
Fernando Tatis Jr. pegs this as the ‘new baseball era’
Fernando Tatis Jr. was quick to call out the fans who cannot handle themselves online. He does not believe the ones causing problems are true baseball fans, and he does not see this problem going away anytime soon.
“It’s part of the new baseball era … These are not real fans, definitely. Or people that generally care for you. So you just try to disappear them from your life.”
