Jayson Tatum Gets It, Says He Feels Bad When He Fails To Hit Parlays For Gamblers

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Sports betting has been a hot topic in the NBA all season, but jumped back to the forefront this week with Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter being investigated by the league due to irregularities attached specifically to his betting lines. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is one of the many NBA stars to be asked about sports gambling in the league and made comments that surely put a smile on the face of every gambler.

Sports gambling is not legal in every state in the country, but given the ease of access for a huge number of Americans to place wagers in a matter of seconds online, NBA players have certainly noticed a bit of a change in behavior of fans.

Tatum has noticed that fans have started to yell at him about hitting specific numbers, whether it be point totals, assists, rebounds, etc. as part of a player parlay.

While the overwhelming majority of professional athletes who are asked about parlays or gambling potentially impacting them in any way, they brush it off and claim they don't care about it. Not Tatum, he said he does feel bad when he doesn't hit certain statistics and hands bettors a loss.

"Fans yell sh-t all the time, ‘shoot one more three, get one more rebound, get 25 before the half is over,’ it definitely is a part of if for sure," Tatum told the media in Atlanta. 

"I guess it’s kind of funny, I guess I do feel bad when I don’t hit peoples’ parlays. I don’t want them to lose money. But I just go out there and try to play the game," he continued.

There is certainly a fine line that fans who have any bit of decency shouldn't cross when it comes to shouting at athletes to hit a statistical mark so they can make a few bucks, but it's cool to hear Tatum admit that he has thought about fans losing some money if he doesn't hit Vegas' lines.

Tatum has plenty of fans around the world, but it's safe to say he picked up a few more after showing some love to folks wagering some money on his abilities on the floor.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.