Sports Gambling Blamed For Fan Violence During The NBA Finals
ESPN's First Take spent a good amount of time discussing the violence and arrests that took place outside Madison Square Garden following the New York Knicks' loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. But one analyst might have found a different culprit other than Wembanyama's game-sealing 32 points or President Trump "jinxing" them.
Appearing on First Take (presented by DraftKings Sports), NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins argued that sports gambling might have a partial responsibility for the violence that took place in NYC. He argued that lost wagers make peoples' emotions run high and it's bigger than ever before.
"Sports will never be the same. And when I say that is because, what is the biggest thing that's evolving when it comes to sports right now? Gambling. Everybody and their mama and their aunties, great aunties, great grandmothers, everybody places a bet. Emotions are high," Perkins said.
"We have to be mindful that emotions are gonna be high now. People are going to be raging. Not just because their sports team lost, because they probably bet their house on it. It's a real thing. People want to run from the conversation, it's a real conversation, because guess what? Sports betting is not going anywhere."
Buying or Selling?
NBA fans weren't really buying that rationale from Perkins, with many pointing out that fans have behaved like that since long before sports betting became legal. Many pointed to a slew of other factors that could have contributed to the violence.
"Maybe it's not the betting, but rather the 10 grand for tickets that causes the tension to be higher?" one user mused.
"While he could be right.. NY fans (Not all) been like that before betting was legal," wrote another.
"Nah. It has always been a problem. It was so bad in Philly, from 1997-2003 they had a literal court in their stadium," a third wrote.
But plenty of people agreed that at the very least sports betting has been a net negative for society.
"He's right. Sports betting has been a huge negative in society."
"He right though."
"Perk says a lot of dumb things. He right here- (People) be mad over games they wouldn't even watch if they didn't bet."
At the end of the day, the fans who acted out and got themselves arrested probably had a wide range of factors that led them to act that way. It's not an excuse though.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM.