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The WNBA deleted a social media video featuring Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese discussing a friendly wager on their game after fans pointed out it conflicted with the league’s gambling policy.
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Key Takeaways
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Reese and Bueckers documented their wager in a video during All-Star Weekend.
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Reese said Wednesday that she planned on using Apple Pay to request $400 from Bueckers.
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A WNBA statement said the matter was addressed internally.
American professional sports leagues strictly forbid their athletes from betting on sanctioned events in which they are involved. That didn’t stop Bueckers and Reese from agreeing to a private wager on their game.
A video posted on the WNBA’s official team account showed a clip of Reese and Bueckers, which appeared to be recorded on Reese’s phone, stitched together with an interview with Bueckers.
Part of the caption on the WNBA’s post read, “Paige Bueckers on the bet she made with Angel Reese at All-Star Weekend on (Wednesday’s) matchup.”
“I’m gonna see you next week on Wednesday,” Reese said to Bueckers while holding four $100 bills. “If y’all win, you get the $400.”
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“And if we lose, then you get to keep it,” Bueckers can be heard saying, to which Reese replied, “No, you owe me $400.”
The video was deleted after fans pointed out that WNBA rules prohibit players from betting on league games.
Article XIV, Player Conduct and Discipline, section 5(c) of the league’s rulebook states:
“Any player found by the Commissioner after a hearing to have been guilty of wagering (directly or indirectly), or of offering or attempting to wager, money or anything of value on the outcome, score, or any other aspect of any WNBA Competition shall, in the sole discretion of the Commissioner, be subject to a fine, suspension, and/or dismissal and disqualification from any further association with the WNBA.”
WNBA responds
Wednesday’s contest between the Dream and the Wings ended in a narrow 82-81 win for the Dream. Reese posted 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Bueckers had 16 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Reese told a reporter after the matchup that she was hoping to receive the money from the wager.
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“I’ll be requesting my Apple Pay after this,” she said.
The WNBA and commissioner Cathy Engelbert did not announce any discipline for Bueckers or Reese.
“While the social media post was intended to be lighthearted, WNBA players are well aware of the league’s policies prohibiting betting on WNBA games and receive training every year reinforcing those policies,” the WNBA said in a statement Thursday. “We recognized that the post missed the mark, removed it shortly after it was published, and addressed the matter internally.
“We will also use this as an opportunity to reemphasize with the players involved that conversations about wagering on WNBA games, even when intended as a joke, can have negative consequences.”
Bueckers led the WNBA in All-Star voting with more than 1 million fan votes. Reese was the 12th of 22 selections made from a pool of All-Stars by All-Star team general managers Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon.
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