Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton reminded people that professional athletes are human, not just entertainers and stat generators. Athletes have always been under the microscope, but Haliburton pointed out that the spread of sports betting in the United States has also been a problem for them.
In a media gaggle on Tuesday, The Athletic’s James Boyd asked the two-time All-Star, who has been mired in a slump, if he has been seeing a sports psychologist. Haliburton confirmed that he has been for the last couple years, even when he has been doing great on the court.
“I don’t just want to talk to them when I’m struggling,” Haliburton said. “I think there has to be a conversation at other times, too, because I think obviously what happens on the court is what happens on the court. But just life in general, I think it’s important for us basketball players, as men, to get those things out because not everybody cares to hear how we feel. That’s just the point-blank period.”
That’s when the discussion turned to sports betting and how it has affected both how he is perceived by fans and how they make him feel.
“To half the world, I’m just helping them make money on DraftKings or whatever. I’m a prop. You know what I mean? That’s what my social media mostly consists of. I think it’s important for us to have somebody to talk to. And I think all that stuff, it can be funny sometimes when somebody’s like, ‘I lost $1,000.’ I don’t give a fuck.”
Haliburton continued: “But I do think it’s important for us to just have conversations with people who really value who we are as human beings. And it’s not just the sports psychologist. It’s our teammates. It’s our loved ones. It’s people who really look out for our well-being, and that’s important to me to just have those constant conversations.”
And there’s no sign of sports betting slowing down any time soon. In fact, the NBA itself is happily expanding access to gambling for its fans, as it just announced gambling integration in the NBA League Pass app.
The partnership with Sportradar puts in-game odds right on the screen during broadcasts. But even more than that, viewers can then tap on the odds and have either the FanDuel or DraftKings app open right to a betting slip so that they can quickly put down a wager.
The new feature is only available in states where sports betting is legal and is opt-in, so users must turn it on in order to use it.
Image credit: Indiana Pacers Facebook page