Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton told reporters Tuesday that seeing a sports psychologist has helped him, and that’s not terribly noteworthy, because many top athletes have been doing this for years, with great results.
But Haliburton kept talking, and what he said next probably caught the attention of many other professional athletes and sports media.
“Just life in general, I think it’s important for us as basketball players, as men, to get those things out,” Haliburton said. “Not everybody cares to hear how we feel. To half the world, I’m just helping them make money on DraftKings or whatever … I’m the prop, you know what I mean? That’s what my social media mostly consists of.”
Ironically, Haliburton made his point about sports betting the same day the Sports Business Journal reported that the NBA is partnering with a company to launch an emBet feature on League Pass that will allow fans to bet on games through either FanDuel or DraftKings. The NFL and FanDuel worked out a similar deal last year.
Haliburton went on to say he hears from people about their gambling situation.
“I think all that stuff, it can be funny sometimes. Somebody’s like, ‘I lost a $1,000.’ Now, I don’t give a f***,” he said.
The rise of legalized sports books around the U.S. has led many to question how it is affecting, or will affect, sports. CBS analyst Tony Romo said in February that it’s a touchy subject for broadcasters, how to talk about gambling-related lines during games.
“To me, it’s like a slippery slope,” he said, adding it makes the game “feel less pure.”
And leagues are still trying to balance on the fine line between a world where sports gambling is everywhere, yet is still regarded as dangerous territory. The NBA recently fined Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert $100,000 for making a money gesture at an official after a call, implying you know what. Many sports media have mentioned that when it comes to a major gambling scandal in pro sports, it’s a matter of when, not if. Temple University is already under investigation for suspicious activity involving betting lines for a college basketball game.
TNT’s Charles Barkley recently said the NBA would be “ruined if people thought it was fixed.”
So while plenty of people have been talking recently about the dangers presented by sports gambling, Haliburton’s admission showed a different perspective — that players can feel like nothing more than “props” in this new era.
