Source: Jason Miller / Getty
Legalizing sports betting has made the game more competitive for fans, but also more dangerous.
It’s given fans more confidence to say disrespectful things to athletes, and one of them messed around and found out, Bradley Beal isn’t the person to heckle.
The Washington Wizards’ guard is under police investigation after an altercation with some hecklers following his team’s 122-112 loss to the Orlando Magic while on the road Tuesday, March 21.
According to TMZ, it began after the final buzzer sounded and he was walking down the tunnel to the locker room at Amway Center when one guy yelled, “You f-cked me [out of] $1,300, you f-ck!”
The comment was likely in reference to sports betting, and Beal reacted by knocking the fan’s hat off his head and called the comment “disrespectful.”
“Keep it a buck. I don’t give a f-ck about none of your bets or your parlays, bro,” Beal said to the group. “That ain’t why I play the game.”
The fan who was talking smack went to the police, who noted that Beal could be charged with simple battery.
Investigators say the phone video footage shows the entire heated exchange which lasted around 50 seconds before Beal was whisked away.
The Wizards have since released a statement on Beal’s involvement but are awaiting more details.
“We are aware of the situation regarding Bradley Beal in Orlando but won’t have further comment until we’ve gathered more information,” the franchise said.
Since 2018, sports betting has been made legal in 33 states and counting, leading to fans becoming more overzealous and cocky enough to approach players like 6 foot 4 Beal.
See how Twitter’s reacting to Beal’s heated exchange over sports betting below.
Bradley Beal Under Police Investigation For Smacking Hat Off Fan’s Head, Twitter Reacts was originally published on cassiuslife.com
