New York Giants kicker Graham Gano has spoken out, sharing his struggles with online hate from bettors and marking yet another prominent sports figure in the crossfire since legalization.
Key Takeaways
- Giants kicker Graham Gano revealed last week he’s received several death threats and hateful messages from bettors.
- The messages are part of a growing trend of athlete abuse tied to sports betting.
- These death threats aren’t exclusive to NFL players, driving some athletes and coaches to early retirement.
Speaking at his locker after practice last week, the 38-year-old detailed that amidst piling injuries, including a herniated disk suffered earlier in the week, the frustration has continued to mount, thanks in no small part to the excessive abuse he’s faced online.
"I mean, shoot, ever since sports betting started to happen, I get people telling me to kill myself every week,” Gano said. "'Cause I'll hit a kick that loses them money. I'll miss a kick, and it loses them money."
Gano notably missed a 45-yard field goal before halftime in New York’s Week 9 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants would go on to lose the game 34-24.
"It was the other day that somebody told me to get cancer and die. So I mean that stuff's part of it,” Gano added, voicing his frustration. “But just playing this long, that stuff, you're used to it by now.”
Graham Gano says it's been "unbelievably frustrating" to deal with injuries & shares he's heard from fans in his DMs:
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) November 6, 2025
"Ever since sports betting started happening, I get people telling me to kill myself every week. The other day somebody told me to get cancer and die" pic.twitter.com/KadI6omuq1
Asked further on how he dealt with the death threats, Gano shared an exasperation with the state of sports betting about its impact on hate received by players, coaches, and others involved in the game.
“I try not to see [that stuff] as best I can, and if I start seeing that stuff, I just shut it off. Unfortunately, that’s part of the game…I’ll get letters, I’ll get fans telling me it to my face, gamedays, the DMs,” the 16-year veteran explained. “I hear a lot of it from other guys on the team, too, [dealing with it]. It’s tough.”
“I just want to make the fans happy, and want to help the team win games.”
Troublesome trend across all leagues
Gano’s candid thoughts are merely the latest in a string of players and coaches across various professional leagues to express their growing concern and frustration with the state of fan interaction relating to sports betting today.
Just last month, in a shocking decision, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, a former Manager of the Year award winner and just 57 years old, retired from his duties despite spending just two seasons as the Friars’ skipper.
Among the factors behind his decision, Shildt claimed, included poor sleep, chest pains, hair loss, and perhaps most damning, those same death threats from strangers.
Others, such as Shildt’s star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., similarly added that he experienced a flood of death threats following the Padres' Wild Card Round loss to the Chicago Cubs this past postseason.
“You really don’t try to pay attention to it,” Tatis said, per The San Diego Tribune. “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.”
Other studies, such as a February 2025 report from The Athletic, also found that abuse towards NBA players had become an emerging trend following the widespread legalization and growth of sports betting.
New York Knicks players interviewed at the time, including star guard Jalen Brunson and now-sophomore Tyler Kolek, expressed their concerns with the anonymous and hateful messages they often found themselves on the wrong end of.
“I’ve been told, ‘Go kill yourself,'” Kolek said at the time. “I’ve gotten worse than that, but that’s a common one.”
