Steve Kerr calls out “weird” fans who send emails blaming him for betting losses

The FBI investigation into illegal gambling activities among NBA coaches and players sheds light on the dark underbelly of sports. Excessive betting has led to troubling patterns of behavior, as seen in fans reaching out to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Before Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Kerr he openly addressed the problem of fans emailing him and his players and basically blaming them for losing bets, says Nick Friedel of the Athletics.

“I think the biggest thing is that our players are facing a lot of anger (from) the fans.” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said ahead of Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. “I’ve talked to our guys; our guys are getting nasty posts on social media from people who bet on the games. That’s the thing I don’t like the most about this. Our players shouldn’t have to deal with that, but they do. They probably would, even if we didn’t have a partnership with these companies.”

Moreover, Kerr put the issue of sports betting into its present-day context.

“So it’s just kind of modern life: social media, everybody has access to everybody else. It’s rough. I feel bad for our guys. I’ve gotten some emails in the past from people I don’t know, saying, ‘Hey, thanks a lot. I had money to play with tonight and you screwed up by signing up so-and-so,’ and we got something like that.” It’s really weird.”

For those who bet on the Warriors, they did well. The Warriors beat the Nuggets in overtime137-131.

The Warriors strictly adhere to the rules

Under Kerr, the Warriors steer a tight shipespecially when it comes to avoiding the temptation of sports betting, per

Before Thursday’s game, Kerr talked about the protocol his team uses when going over betting rules and regulations.

“Our legal counsel came in and talked to the team four days ago,” Kerr said. “Every team in the league does that. They go through bulletins about everything: what’s allowed and what’s not allowed.”

“So our players are well aware — all players are well aware of what they’re allowed to do and what they’re not allowed to do.”

A far cry from Kerr’s playing days in the 1990s when he won five championships, three with the Chicago Bulls (1996, 1997, 1998) and two with the San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003).