Professional golfer Max Homa publicly fired back at disgruntled bettors recently on Instagram.
After a top-5 finish at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, his best tournament of the season, Homa received an abusive message through social media, using profanity and telling Homa to harm himself.
According to Golf Digest, the golfer responded by posting on his account, adding, “I think he lost his parlay.”
Key takeaways
- Pro golfer Max Homa got an abusive message from an angry bettor on social media, telling him to harm himself.
- Fellow golfer Scottie Scheffler dealt with similar issues on Venmo, causing him to delete his account.
- Athletes in other sports, including tennis, baseball, track, and football, have also encountered vicious behavior both online and at events.
Homa also received a request on the peer-to-peer financial app Venmo for $1,900. He posted a screenshot of the request from a “Carl Watkins,” who included a comment on the message that said, “Bc you can’t putt under pressure.”
Homa added a caption that read, “Gamble like a big boy Carl and take ur lumps like the rest of us.”
‘Awful place’
The PGA Tour golfer was having fun with bettors upset about losing, but harassment is on the rise. Homa, who cut back from regularly posting on his social media accounts, spoke out last week about the issue with gamblers.
“Twitter or X is an awful, awful place. It took me a while to catch on to how impactful that can be and how much of a waste of energy,” Homa said. “I miss the connection with the fans, but nothing comes without…just so much hate and anger. I don’t know if it’s the gambling world or whatnot. I’m happy they can do it, but it seems fun as hell in golf, but…people say some bad, bad things. People tell you you should die on the internet.”
Fellow PGA Tour pro and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler dealt with similar issues on Venmo. He deleted his account after multiple bettors requested payments for lost wagers. Scheffler also said he’s had people send him money after winning bets, just not nearly as frequently.
“I think everybody hears from fans whether they have a financial benefit or anything in their outcome,” Scheffler said. “That’s why I had to get rid of my Venmo because I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn’t win. It wasn’t a good feeling.”
Other abusive situations
Athletes became increasingly outspoken about it over the past several months.
Women’s tennis pro Jessica Pegula detailed bettors' “insane and delusional” behavior after she lost in the French Open in June.
“I don’t allow DMs and try to remember when to shut my comments off during tournament weeks, but they always find a way to my timeline,” Pegula wrote on Instagram. “This stuff has never really bothered me much, but does any other sport deal with this to our level? I’d love to know because it seems to be tennis?? It’s so disturbing.”
MLB players discussed how much more prevalent abuse from sports bettors is in recent years. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. received death threats from a foreign bettor this season. A gambler harassed and heckled track star Gabby Thomas, who documented the exchange on social media during a Grand Slam track event in Philadelphia.
Former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said last year he also received Venmo requests from disgruntled bettors. These issues are at the forefront for the NCAA.
