Viewers Call Out ESPN After Betting Graphic Vanishes During NBA Scandal Segment

(Screengrab via ESPN)

ESPN viewers called out the network for appearing to abruptly pull a live, on-screen promotion for its gambling venture ESPN Bet on Thursday morning just as anchor Mike Greenberg was discussing the FBI’s arrests of NBA figures in a sprawling betting scandal.

Greenberg reflected that previously sports gambling was “something networks like ESPN would stay far away from” on Get Up’s live broadcast while a banner touting an ESPN Bet promo — “Bet $10, Get $100” — sat along the bottom corner of the screen.

“Sports gambling… was something leagues stayed far away from,” the host said. “It was something networks like ESPN would stay far away from. Those days are obviously long behind us.”

However, as Greenberg spoke, the promo vanished completely mid-segment in an edit that viewers protested:

OutKick’s Clay Travis piled on, calling the moment “pretty funny”:

ESPN is paying Penn Entertainment $1.5 billion over ten years to license the ESPN Bet brand, launched in 2023, and Greenberg himself has fronted several of its commercials and betting promotions.

Hours earlier, the FBI announced 34 arrests linked to an illegal gambling ring spanning 11 states. Among those detained were Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player and coach Damon Jones.

Both Billups and Rozier have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA.