Bryce Harper Says Not So Fast to Explosive Inquirer Report About Him and FanDuel

Bryce Harper at the Home-Run Derby in Philadelphia, the day before the All-Star Game, as a controversy swirls around him and the gambling app FanDuel, as covered by the Inquirer (Getty Images)

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Phillies star Bryce Harper didn’t have the best night on Monday for the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park. In fact, he tied for the worst evening of the eight players involved, getting himself eliminated after scoring “only” eight home runs. (As if any of us could score even one.) It could be that Harper, who is now preparing for Tuesday night’s All-Star Game, has a lot on his mind. That would be completely understandable considering the shitstorm that the beloved Phillies player finds himself in the middle of.

On Thursday, hard-nosed Philadelphia Inquirer investigative reporter (and former Philly Mag writer) David Gambacorta unleashed a positively explosive story headlined “FanDuel Sent a Personal Message from Phillies Star Bryce Harper to a Customer with a Gambling Addiction.” This was the lead front-page story in the Inquirer‘s Thursday print edition, above important stories about Iran, Ukraine, Donald Trump, and the Department of Justice. The Harper story was big news. (Read the whole piece here.)

Gambacorta’s report is based on allegations contained in a product liability lawsuit filed by the Public Health Advocacy Institute against shadowy sports betting companies FanDuel and DraftKings in Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court earlier this year. The suit alleges that the companies do whatever they can to keep addicted players addicted and to increase their addictions with various enticements.

Case in point: gambling addict Terry Thompson, who says he placed his first FanDuel bet in 2020 and eventually gambled $18.5 million with the company. And when you throw down close to $20 million in bets with anyone, it’s hardly surprising that you unlock VIP status.

So Thompson, a resident of Montgomery County, was very much a FanDuel VIP, earning all sorts of comps, such as tickets to the Super Bowl and, most notably in this case, a personalized video message from one of his Philly sports heroes, Bryce Harper, who wished Thompson and his family a happy Thanksgiving, mentioned Thompson’s minor child by name, and thanked him for all of the support over the years. The video was emblazoned with the FanDuel logo. Thompson alleges that these perks enticed him to throw away more of his money.

At least on the surface, the Inquirer‘s attention on Harper didn’t exactly paint him in the best light, appearing to connect the player to gambling apps that have become a real scourge in the 2020s, even as huge celebrities like Philly movie star Kevin Hart (and… Neil Patrick Harris, wtf?!) continue to endorse them.

Gambacorta tried to get Harper to weigh in for the story, but neither Harper nor his representatives offered comment. And right under the headline in the story’s print edition were these words in bold: “There is no evidence that the Phillies star knew about the customer’s issues.”

Now, Harper has broken his silence and is commenting. In an Instagram post on Monday, Harper said that he thought he was just fulfilling a fan request on Cameo, a site that lets sports stars and other celebs earn money by sending fans customized messages. Harper has a Cameo account, through which he’ll offer birthday wishes or another non-commercial personalized video message to anyone for $899 and up. And that’s just what he said he did here, basically following the script sent in by the requestor, who was allegedly Thompson’s “host” on FanDuel, i.e. the person in charge of hooking him up with perks. In the video, Harper does mention the host and FanDuel, but he says he absolutely didn’t understand how exactly the video was being used.

“What happened here went beyond anything I knew about or approved,” he wrote. “I didn’t know this video would be used for commercial purposes. The request included a short script. I read it in good faith. FanDuel then put its own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion. I did not know FanDuel would do this, I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.”

Here’s what FanDuel had to say in a statement about the matter:

FanDuel is committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers. Unlike illegal offshore sportsbooks, FanDuel employees are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools, and we continue to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry’s strongest consumer protection initiatives.

After Harper released his statement on Instagram, Gambacorta and his Inquirer colleague William Bender published a new article (you can read it here), acknowledging Harper’s statement while also rightly noting that Harper did mention FanDuel by name in his recorded video.

In terms of how the Cameo video wound up being used, Harper has plenty of legal options and says he’s not commenting any further on the advice of his attorneys. Inquirer editor Gabriel Escobar declined to comment on this story. The legal teams on both sides of Thompson’s case did not respond to a request for comment.