Ryne Stanek, the New York Mets‘ veteran pitcher, has spoken out against MLB over its growing ties to legalized sports betting, claiming that the connection puts players and their families at risk.
In an interview with the New York Post, Stanek revealed that he constantly receives death threats from frustrated gamblers. The pitcher emphasized that the problem is widespread and fears the repercussions it could have for his family.
The situation of gambling in sports and in MLB is quite critical, as, for example, the Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are being investigated for participating in gambling.
Ryne Stanek makes plea to MLB after receiving threats
Mets pitcher Ryne Stanek was quite clear in the interview and explained that the situation is getting out of hand, as he has received constant threats towards him and his family.
“I get death threats all the time, every day. It’s not something that every baseball player doesn’t have to deal with constantly. Something like, ‘You cost me my parlay, I hope your family dies,'” the player explained.
“It’s a difficult landscape that players are dealing with now, because teams are making so much money from [betting] that they don’t want to fix the problem
Stanek commented that the issue of gambling is getting worse and that a solution must be found.
“Gambling in baseball does nothing but substantially worsen the daily lives of players. They are just people who recklessly gamble their money on anything they can and if you ruin their bad life choice, you are the problem and should die.”
Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz under investigation
The case of betting in MLB is so serious that Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are being investigated for participating in these acts.
Federal prosecutors allege that both players were involved in an illegal gambling scheme, agreeing in advance on the type of pitches they would make to favor specific bets
The case of Emmanuel Clase is more complex, because text messages were revealed that involve him, while Ortiz defended himself through his lawyer, Chris Georgalis, who issued a statement defending the integrity of his client: “There is no credible evidence that Luis knowingly did anything other than try to win games, with every pitch and every inning,” he explained.
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