June 05, 2025
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
A man who heckled Gabby Thomas, right, to aid his chances of winning a FanDuel parlay during the Grand Slam Track event at Franklin Field on Saturday has been banned by the gambling site. The photo above shows Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, left, beating Thomas in the 200-meter dash.
FanDuel has banned the online better who heckled track and field star Gabby Thomas as she competed at the Grand Slam Track event at Franklin Field on Saturday.
The bettor had taken to social media Monday to claim he "made Gabby lose" in the 100-meter-dash by heckling her during the race. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won, which helped the better win his parlay — a bet that links two or more wagers together.
Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist at the Paris Games last summer, later responded on X, calling out the "grown man" who followed her around the track "shouting personal insults."
This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults- anybody who enables him online is gross https://t.co/f9a6vPkX0v
— Gabby Thomas (@itsgabbyt) June 2, 2025
FanDuel issued a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday, acknowledging it had banned the better and saying the betting site "condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes. Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel."
Despite the controversy, Thomas appeared to have enjoyed her time competing in Philly, posting on X that, after London, Philadelphia comes close to her favorite place to compete.
My favorite place to compete has always been London (fans and atmosphere)…but after this weekend, Philly comes close. Such a cool stadium and fans coming from all over
— Gabby Thomas (@itsgabbyt) June 3, 2025
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