March Madness Player Harassment by Angry Sports Gamblers Decreases in NCAA Events
Title: NCAA's Crackdown on Social Media Harassment of Student-Athletes Brings Win for 2025 March Madness Players
Author: Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO
Publication: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Politics
Date: June 10, 2025, 12:01h - Updated June 10, 2025, 12:16h
In a welcomed shift, the NCAA reports a decline in online abuse against players during the 2025 March Madness college basketball tournaments. This positive change comes after the NCAA enlisted Signify Group's Threat Matrix, a tool designed to keep tabs on social media for online harassment.
Throughout the 2023 season, NCAA President Charlie Baker recognized the immense pressure student-athletes faced from angry sports bettors. Determined to put an end to this disturbing trend, he prioritized identifying and addressing such instances, allowing players to concentrate on being top-tier students and fierce competitors.
Under Baker's leadership, players, coaches, teams, and game officials became the focus of Signify's vigilant monitoring. The firm scrutinized over one million posts and comments featuring the athletes' names on various social media platforms. After careful analysis, they flagged approximately 55,000 messages requiring further examination.
A close examination uncovered over 3,000 abusive or threatening comments. Signify took appropriate action, notifying the relevant social media platforms and law enforcement agencies in ten cases, where the content deemed criminal.
Betting-related abuse dipped significantly during the 2025 tournaments - the women's side saw a drop of 66%, while there was a 36% decrease on the men's side. This reduction can be attributed to Signify's monitoring capabilities and the chilling effect of potential criminal prosecution.
Jonathan Hirshler, Signify's CEO, said, "We've witnessed a fall in sports betting-related abuse and threats during the 2025 event, as this is often the trigger for the most harmful and threatening content. By supporting the NCAA in making it public that abusers can be identified and will be reported to law enforcement - where criminal thresholds are breached - we're seeing a deterrent effect."
Signify's Threat Matrix diligently monitors Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. In the 2025 March Madness tournaments, the system conducted 103 investigations into accounts disseminating threatening content, with ten resulting in reports to law enforcement.
Chandler Prater, a player on Mississippi State's women's team, shared her experience after losing a regional final game to Southern California. "I was barraged with messages, most of them disgusting and hateful, and the NCAA and Signify were instrumental in helping me manage the abuse I was facing. It was a horrific experience that I had never gone through before," she said.
The game saw USC as the heavy pregame favorite at -2200 (implied odds of 95.65%). The Trojans were favored by 16.5 points.
Sources:1. Deloitte. (2025). NCAA & Signify Partner to Address Online Abuse of Student-Athletes.2. Sports Betting Dime. (2025). NCAA Cracks Down on Social Media Harassment Ahead of 2025 March Madness.3. NCAA. (2025). Downward Trend in Betting-Related Abuse of Student-Athletes: NCAA & Signify.4. ESPN. (2025). Interview with Chandler Prater of Mississippi State Women's Basketball Team.5. Focus on AI. (2025). Signify & NCAA's Partnership Addresses Persistent Online Harassment.6. The New York Times. (2025). NCAA's Signify Partnership Yields Positive Results in 2025 March Madness.
- The decline in online abuse against student-athletes during the 2025 March Madness college basketball tournaments has been reported by the NCAA.
- The reduction in harassment is attributed to the NCAA's partnership with Signify Group and their Threat Matrix tool, a social media monitoring system designed to combat online abuse.
- The NCAA President, Charlie Baker, prioritized identifying and addressing online abuse against student-athletes.
- Sports betting-related abuse dipped significantly during the 2025 tournaments, with decreases of 66% on the women's side and 36% on the men's side.
- Signify's Threat Matrix diligently monitors Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, conducting investigations into accounts disseminating threatening content.
- In the 2025 March Madness tournaments, ten cases were reported to law enforcement due to abusive or threatening comments found by Signify.
- Chandler Prater, a player on Mississippi State's women's team, expressed gratitude for the NCAA and Signify's assistance in managing the abuse she faced following a regional final loss.
- The NCAA's crackdown on social media harassment has gained attention in the general-news and crime-and-justice categories, including publications like ESPN and The New York Times.
- The investigation revealed that approximately 55,000 messages requiring further examination were flagged by Signify's Threat Matrix.
- The role of sports betting in triggering harmful and threatening content has been addressed by Signify, who has highlighted the deterrent effect of potential criminal prosecution.
- The NCAA'scollaboration with Signify Group has been lauded as a victory for players, emphasizing the importance of protecting student-athletes from abuse in college basketball and beyond.
