NBA Star Bradley Beal In Hot Water, Here's How Sports Betting Ties Into The Police Getting Involved

Washington Wizards player Bradley Beal has found himself in hot water for an event that happened after one of this team’s recent games. Here’s a look at the incident and how sports betting is involved.

What Happened: Wizards guard Beal has not played in a game since a March 21 loss to the Orlando Magic. While Beal sat out due to a knee injury, his time off also coincides with a police investigation over sports betting.

While some players in major league sports have found themselves the subject of improper sports betting, in this case it was a fan who was betting that has drawn attention to the NBA and Beal.

The Wizards lost the matchup with the Magic on March 21 at Amway Center in Orlando by a score of 122 to 112. 

Beal had an off night putting up 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists. While the rebounds and assists were above his season average, the 16 points were less than Beal’s 23.2 points per game average.

Beal was 4-for-15 on field goal attempts, including 0-4 on three-point attempts.

After the game, Beal was headed to the locker room when comments from a fan caught his attention.

“You made me lose $1,300, you f***,” a fan yelled at Beal, according to a police report, as shared by ESPN.

Beal went towards the fan and knocked his hat off of his head making contact with the fan’s head. The NBA player told the fan that playing basketball is his job and he takes it seriously. The fan apologized on the police video and told Beal he did not intend to offend him.

“Keep it a buck. I don’t give a f*** about none of your bets or your parlays, bro. That ain’t why I play the game,” Beal told the fan, according to TMZ Sports.

The incident lasted less than one minute according to TMZ.

Story over right?

Wrong.

The fan filed a complaint with the Orlando Police Department around 24 hours after the game with the fan saying he was hit in the head and wanted to press charges. Police watched cell phone video of the incident and have not found surveillance video from the arena.

The NBA and Wizards are both aware of the situation and have issued statements.

“We are aware of the report and in the process of gathering more information,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.

TMZ Sports said Beal’s attorney provided an update on the story.

“We are cooperating with the investigation and (Bradley’s) name will be cleared soon,” the attorney said.

Related Link: Mat Ishbia Buys Phoenix Suns, How The Purchase Could Take A Mortgage Rivalry To The NBA 

Why It’s Important: Sports betting was legalized in 2018 with states able to decide if they would offer online sports betting and retail casino-based betting.

Since 2018, 33 states have launched sports betting for consumers.

While fans are expected to bet only what they can afford to lose or to bet in small amounts, the example of the fan could put a negative spotlight on the sector.

Athletes have been called out before for their performance causing bets to lose or hurting a person’s fantasy sports team in a weekly matchup.

Florida has not legalized sports betting, which means the fan could have been lying, placed the bet in another state or meant daily fantasy sports.

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Photo: All-Pro Reels via Flickr Creative Commons