There are a lot of hot topics when it comes to sports these days, and one at the top of the list is sports betting. More specifically, there are concerns about the proliferation of sports betting and the impact it can have on participants, especially college students (the NCAA initially announced a rule change that would allow student-athletes to participate in sports betting this year, but pushed that decision back in late October; the rule was overturned in November).
Wings forward Maddie Siegrist, who is gearing up for her first season in Unrivaled after playing in AU Pro Basketball in early 2025, recently spoke about sports betting as part of an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. Siegrist acknowledged she did not grow up with gambling and betting, and admitted she finds some of the discourse surrounding the topic to be concerning.
Siegrist also pointed out that the WNBA, like all pro sports leagues, benefits from sports betting whether or not athletes, teams, or fans like the process. Sports betting means more people are watching the games, which means players can take advantage of deals and endorsements, viewership is up, and the league can continue to secure media rights deals that benefit everyone.
Sports betting bleeds into social media, and players see it
But there is a negative aspect that's tough to contend with: when a bet goes wrong, or someone loses out in a big way, they tend to turn to social media to blow off steam. All too often, that means they target the team or player they believe cost them the bet. "Any pro athlete will kind of give you the same [story]: These are people betting from their house that you’re going to go under [a projected stat total] or your team’s going to win," Siegrist said.
"With the world of social media, just how much hate people get is truly amazing. I’m not a super controversial player. I don’t have the spotlight like some of my other teammates. But if you have a bad game or a good game, you can get anywhere from 50 to 100 [direct messages] or comments on your social media that are crazy."
Her solution has been to stay off social media when she's playing, something that isn't too hard to do. While it's important to stay connected to a degree to maintain her brand and build partnerships that add to her overall income, she tends to steer clear of Twitter/X and will use TikTok for fun — but not for WNBA content.