Cavaliers’ J.B. Bickerstaff says he’s been threatened by gamblers،
Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff revealed he received threats from players last season and reported it to the NBA.
While being asked Wednesday night about sports betting following comments from Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who said he sometimes felt like a “prop,” Bickerstaff said players reached out to him .
“They got my phone number and sent me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and stuff,” Bickerstaff said before the Cavs hosted the Miami Heat. “So it’s a dangerous game and a fine line that we walk, that’s for sure.”
Bickerstaff said he notified security and the player was located.
“No charges,” Bickerstaff said. “But they found it.”
With the growth of sports betting in the United States, Bickerstaff, who is in his fourth full season with the Cavaliers, said his job has become more difficult.
“It creates additional pressure,” he said. “It brings a distraction to the game that can be difficult for players, coaches, referees and everyone involved in it. And I think we really have to be careful about how close we let the game get and how close we the safety of the land and the people involved.
“Because again, it has a weight to it. A lot of times people who play like that money is paying their light bill or paying their rent, and then the emotions that come with that. So I think we're walking the line really well. fine and we must be extremely careful to protect everyone involved.”
Because fans can bet on their phones in the arena — the Cavs have a sportsbook in Rocket Mortage FieldHouse — Bickerstaff said the line between gambling and gambling has never been thinner.
“There’s no question we went overboard,” Bickerstaff said. “The number of times I'm standing up there and we might be up 10 points and the lead is 11 and people are yelling at me to leave the guys up there so we can cover the gap, it's ridiculous.
“But again, I understand the business side and the nature of the business. But I mean, this is something that I think has gone too far.”
After a recent game in Cleveland, Minnesota center Rudy Gobert said he felt the play was “hurting our game.”
Gobert made the comments after making a “money” gesture toward official Scott Foster, implying that the play influenced how the play was called. He was fined $100,000, the maximum the NBA could award under the collective bargaining agreement that took effect last year.
