The Bryce Harper FanDuel backlash is aimed at the wrong target

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer released a story involving Bryce Harper and FanDuel Sportsbook. You’ve probably already seen it, but here’s the quick version.

FanDuel sent a personalized 21-second video from Bryce Harper to Terry Thompson, a VIP customer with a crippling gambling addiction. Harper greets Thompson by name, mentions his son, and name-drops Thompson’s FanDuel VIP host, sent as a Thanksgiving 2024 perk. Thompson had wagered $18.5M through FanDuel, lost nearly $2M, foreclosed on his home, and later entered psychiatric treatment.

He’s now suing FanDuel and DraftKings, alleging their VIP programs deliberately fuel addiction.

Harper isn’t named in the suit, has no known FanDuel partnership, and there’s no evidence he knew about the addiction. Everyone, Boras, the Phillies, MLB, FanDuel, declined comment. Experts say it’s unprecedented for an active player and may not violate MLB’s current CBA, but call it ethically indefensible.

If you scroll through Twitter, most of the internet’s ire is coming down on Bryce.

Bryce Harper faces backlash over FanDuel video

Phillies star Bryce Harper recorded a personal video at the request of a FanDuel VIP host per @phillysport

The client ended up losing 2 million dollars, his house, and police had to stop him from committing suicide

The MLB and Harper have nothing to say pic.twitter.com/xJzenCU1xR

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) July 9, 2026

as someone almost three years clean from a gambling addiction, this is genuinely sickening and has completely changed my feelings about Bryce Harper. These sportsbooks are unbelievably predatory once you’ve lost a ton of money. He should be ashamed of helping keep a man addicted https://t.co/ftdcvN7uvh

— broad stweet (@Broad_STweet) July 9, 2026

Bryce Harper won’t chew real tobacco because “mormon”.

But lose $1.5 million to Fanduel? Hell he will reach out to FaceTime

Yeah all these guys are frauds and sellouts. They all deserve to burn. https://t.co/L04k7mTSYG

— Behold A Pale Horse (@BeholdPaleH0rse) July 9, 2026

Any normal person can agree, this is predatory at best and demonstrative at worst on FanDuel’s part. No one will argue against that. But there’s simply no evidence of Bryce Harper knowing anything about this guy’s gambling addiction or the scale at which this man was losing money.

Bryce isn’t even a paid partner of FanDuel. They didn’t feel obligated to tell him anything other than, “Hey, this VIP member really loves you can you record this video for him?”

If you want to get sports betting out of the MLB and all professional sports, I’m with you. That’s where your anger should be directed, not at the player. My most boomer take is that sports gambling should be brick and mortar only, no online stuff. Obviously, people are going to be more susceptible to gambling addictions if they can do it anywhere and anytime from their phones.

On top of that, the ethics behind sportsbooks sponsoring major sports leagues isn’t even a debate. They shouldn’t be involved with the leagues themselves in any shape, form, or fashion. It breeds corruption. It’s just like politics — the biggest donors get the biggest favors. Sportsbooks make an inhumane amount of money every year, and a large chunk of that is going to leagues so they get in front of as many fans as possible.

With this specific instance, this guy who bet all his money away also holds accountability. No one made him do it. Bryce Harper didn’t pull up to his house and hold him at gunpoint until he placed his five-leg parlay. He sent him a Happy Thanksgiving video.

I agree that sportsbooks shouldn’t nudge gambling addicts to keep betting. But I don’t agree that Terry Thompson was forced to do this to himself. Addiction is a long, tough road to recover from, and addicts who really want to recover deserve our support. They also have to be accountable for their own actions. No one forced anything onto this man.

If you think Bryce Harper is at fault here, you’re an idiot. Blame the sportsbooks, blame the league, blame the actual gambling addict for falling into the trap. Bryce just told the guy to have a great Thanksgiving.