By Mateo Mayorga / Pounding The Rock, 2026-10-04 01:50:56
正当我以为维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 已经帅到极致时，他在周四被问及是否会与博彩公司合作时，对运动员涉足博彩公司表达了坚决的反对立场。
“绝对不会，我绝不可能做那种事，”文班亚马说，“老实说，看到有些球员给它做宣传，我觉得挺悲哀的……”
维克托·文班亚马被问及是否会与体育博彩公司签约：“绝对不会。老实说，看到有些球员给它做宣传，我觉得挺悲哀的。” pic.twitter.com/foorjwznDq
— 贾里德·韦斯 (Jared Weiss) (@JaredWeissNBA) 2026年10月1日
这番话掷地有声，令人拍手叫好。
将他和凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 放在一起对比，两者的差距简直如卡拉维拉斯湖一般宽广。杜兰特与 FanDuel 体育博彩公司有着商业往来，却在周五表示自己“压根没想过这个问题”。要是杜兰特在记者簇拥下摆出一副漠不关心的姿态时，能意识到这对自己形象造成了多大损害就好了。
近年来，有太多运动员为了再赚一笔丰厚的支票而出卖原则，仿佛他们赚得还不够多似的。遗憾的是，这帮人一边过着锦衣玉食的生活，一边却表现得好像今晚午夜就要交不起房租一样。更令人疑窦丛生的是，像扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 这样的人，竟然在交易截止日后宣布自己是预测市场 Kalshi 的股东，而该平台在截止日前曾承接了大量关于他去向的投注。
比在任何体育赛事中看到铺天盖地的赌博广告更让人恼火的是，这类东西本身极具危害性，某些体育博彩公司更是带有掠夺性的。他们就像是一群伺机利用人性中最恶劣冲动来牟利的新型市井无赖。试想一下，一个正在努力戒赌的人，电视屏幕却在不断向他抛出诱惑。
想想看，DraftKings 正因涉嫌利用 AI 手段诱导成瘾而面临联邦诉讼，而 FanDuel 则向用户推送了一条包含费城费城人队球星布莱斯·哈珀 (Bryce Harper) 在 Cameo 平台定制视频的消息，哈珀本人表示对该视频会被用于此目的毫不知情。除非这些体育博彩公司受到严惩，否则这些卑劣的勾当绝不会自行消失。
赌博造成了极大的危害——受害者不仅需要寻求专业心理援助，甚至有人自杀身亡，或因钱财而伤人性命。在这一连串的恶果面前，博彩业赚取的利润到底要到何种程度才会被视为“带血的钱”？这是一个庄家胜率高达约90%的做局系统，任何为其站台的运动员，无异于在号召公众把辛辛苦苦赚来的血汗钱扔进火坑。
职业体育联盟引入体育博彩，早就落得个得不偿失的下场。当琼泰·波特 (Jontay Porter) 因涉嫌退赛协助不法赌徒谋取暴利而认罪时，NBA 产品的公信力便已遭受玷污。特里·罗齐尔 (Terry Rozier) 也因涉嫌卷入博彩骗局而遭到联邦起诉。
如果说这项运动的严肃性或公众的遭遇还不足以让决策者考虑改弦易辙，那么人们不禁要问：难道非得等到某位球员被那些输红了眼的赌徒置于险境甚至是更糟糕的境地，他们才会醒悟吗？比赛的走向本来就变幻莫测，运动员们平时在社交媒体私信里收到那些输钱者的怨气倾倒，抱怨得已经够多了——那谁又能保证，这些心理变态的赌徒不会做出更极端的事情呢？
众所周知，涉足博彩公司的名头最响亮的人物当属勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James)。他宁愿向公众兜售酒精饮料、推广 Polymarket，也不愿多花点心思去关心自己协助创办的那所学校办学成效如何。他在 NBA 的薪资收入高达5.813亿美元，场外的商业版图同样盆满钵满。他和所有参与类似生意的球员，都应该感到无地自容。
文班毫不客气地点明这一点是件好事，因为运动员本就应当成为楷模，孩子们天然会去仰视他们。詹姆斯从未传出过什么丑闻，但他与博彩公司的最新合作却让其形象大打折扣，而文班亚马的口碑则在此刻节节攀升。从真正沉下心读完一本书，到毫不畏惧就重要议题发声，文班与这位前联盟门面詹姆斯截然不同——而这，恰恰是当下的联盟所需要的。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：Wembanyama’s refusal to endorse betting companies makes him a bigger man off the court
Wembanyama’s refusal to endorse betting companies makes him a bigger man off the court
Just when I thought Victor Wembanyama couldn’t get any cooler, he took a firm stance against athletes getting involved with betting companies when asked if he would partner up with one on Thursday.
“Absolutely not, I will never do that,” Wembanyama said. “ Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it…”
Victor Wembanyama was asked if he would ever sign a deal with a sports betting company: “Absolutely not. Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it.” pic.twitter.com/foorjwznDq
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) October 1, 2026
Shots fired and amen.
The juxtaposition between him and Kevin Durant, who said on Friday he doesn’t think about the question while having business ties with FanDuel Sportsbook, seems as large as Calaveras Lake. If only Durant understood what he was doing to his image while he stood there indifferently in the scrum of reporters.
Too many athletes in recent years have sold out for an extra hefty check as if they aren’t getting extraordinary amounts of money already. Unfortunately, this bunch acts like they could miss the rent payment at midnight, while living large. On top of that, it’s highly sketchy when someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo announces after the trade deadline that he is a shareholder of Kalshi, a prediction market that took many bets on where he would go before the deadline.
More importantly than how annoying it is to see a constant stream of gambling ads during any sports event, that stuff is dangerous and some of the sports books are predatory. They are the new wise guys waiting to take advantage of society’s worst impulses. Just imagine trying to be a recovering gambler and the TV keeps presenting temptation.
Consider how DraftKings is being sued federally for alleged use of AI tactics that promote addiction, and FanDuel encouraged a user with a message containing a Cameo video of Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper, who said he was not aware that the video would be used for that. These underhanded schemes won’t go away unless the sports books are severely punished.
With all the harm gambling causes from victims ending up needing professional help, to committed suicides or someone hurting another over money, at what point does one consider the return from the books blood money? It’s a rigged system in which the house is going to win around 90 percent of the time, so any athlete endorsing it is just telling the public to light their hard-earned cash on fire.
Sports betting has already been more trouble than it’s worth for professional leagues to allow. The integrity of the NBA product was compromised when Jontay Porter copped a guilty plea for removing himself from a game so dirty bettors could make large sums of money. Terry Rozier was also federally indicted for his alleged role in a betting scheme.
If the seriousness of the game or what happens to the public isn’t enough to make decision makers consider changing direction, then one wonders if a player being put in danger or worse by some lunatic who lost money on a wager, is what does. Athletes complain enough about people in their direct messages upset about losing money when a game can go in plenty of directions — what’s to stop one of those sickos from taking it further?
As we know, the most prominent of all the names involved with betting companies is LeBron James, who would rather sell the public booze and promote Polymarket than care more about how that school he helped start is performing. He has made $581.3 million in NBA earnings and his coin purse does well in outside business. He and all the rest of the ballers involved in similar ventures should be ashamed of themselves.
It’s good that Wemby didn’t mince words because athletes are supposed to be role models since children will naturally look up to them. James has never been in a scandal, but his image takes a big hit with his latest partnership while Wembanyama’s rises. From actually finishing books to being unafraid to speak on important matters, Wemby couldn’t be any more different than James, the former face of the league, and that’s what the league needs right now.
By Mateo Mayorga / Pounding The Rock