NCAA, Venmo Partner to Curb Harassment of College Athletes

The NCAA and online payment service Venmo announced a partnership Tuesday aiming to combat abuse and harassment of college athletes, according to ESPN’s David Purdum.

NCAA, Venmo Partnership Features Hotline For Athletes

The NCAA-Venmo partnership features a dedicated hotline for collegiate athletes to report abuse and harassment, education on account security, and increased monitoring.

According to an NCAA official, most of the harassment on Venmo comes in the form of requests for payment from gamblers who lost a bet related to the athlete.

Venmo’s security team will now monitor social media trends and events during games, such as “last-second missed field goals,” that have led to surges in hostile interactions, per Purdum.

Venmo said it would provide a best-practices guide for athletes to “stay safe” on its platform.

“Venmo will monitor student-athletes’ accounts on an ongoing basis to help mitigate an influx of requests based on game performance and work directly with them to implement additional security measures as needed,” the news release said.

20% Of Online Abuse, Harassment Tied To Sports Betting

Former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne, who went undrafted in May and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals, said he received payment requests from angry sports bettors following a loss last season.

“The harassment we are seeing across various online platforms is unacceptable, and we need fans to do better,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a news release. “We applaud Venmo for taking action, and we need more social media companies and online platforms to do the same.”

The NCAA says its research shows that close to 20% of online abuse and harassment directed at college basketball and football players on social media is connected to sports betting.

“We have heard of solicitation of insider information as well,” Clint Hangebrauck, NCAA managing director of enterprise risk management, told ESPN.

“‘Hey, can you let me know if you’re going to play or not, and I’ll provide you some money,’ which is obviously really problematic for us from an integrity standpoint.”

Venmo Debuts Big Ten, Big 12-Branded Debit Cards

Venmo has been expanding its footprint on college campuses with school spirit-branded debit cards and an option for athletes to receive money from their school directly in the PayPal app.

The Big Ten and Big 12-branded debit cards demonstrate that Venmo plays “an integral role in the way millions of college students, athletes, alumni, and fans engage with each other and move money in their daily lives.”

“Venmo’s origins are on college campuses. It’s where our network took hold,” Geoff Seeley, chief marketing officer at Venmo’s parent company, PayPal, said in a news release.

According to Venmo’s website, card holders can earn 15% cash back, access all the benefits with no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement, and users can spend their balance everywhere Mastercard is accepted.