7/14/26: AIPAC Deploys Obama Ads In Michigan, Bryce Harper FanDuel Scandal

Summary

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar
Episode Date: July 14, 2026
Main Topics: AIPAC/Obama Ads in Michigan Primary, Bryce Harper FanDuel Gambling Scandal

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti dissect two stories with major political and social implications. First, they analyze the Michigan Democratic Senate primary where AIPAC and establishment groups are deploying controversial Obama-themed ads for Haley Stevens to undercut left-wing opponent Abdul El-Sayed. Next, the conversation pivots to a bombshell investigation involving MLB star Bryce Harper, FanDuel, and the exploitation of high-stakes gamblers, sparking questions about the relationship between athletes, gambling companies, and addiction.

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1. Michigan Democratic Senate Primary: The Obama Endorsement Illusion

Key Discussion Points

• Background and the Ads

  • Haley Stevens, establishment candidate, faces challenge from progressive Abdul El-Sayed.
  • Massive super PAC spending, including groups backed by AIPAC, flood the race with ads implying Stevens has Barack Obama’s direct endorsement.
  • Saagar describes a mailer and TV spot that quote Obama on Stevens’ role in the auto bailout, even though Obama has not endorsed her in this race.
    • Quote: “Haley Stevens was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry come roaring back.” – Obama, used prominently though not a current endorsement ([03:08]).

• Voter Impact and Perception

  • Michigan voters reportedly swayed by the suggestion of Obama’s backing.
  • Stevens’ campaign leveraging Obama’s residual popularity, especially among Black Michiganders and older Democrats.
    • Quote: “If President Obama trusts her, so do I.” – Stevens supporter in ad ([03:02]).

• Political Strategy and Party Dynamics

  • Krystal notes this is a classic tactic, similar to how some Republicans recycle Trump endorsements from previous cycles ([04:46]).
  • Millions in outside spending, both pro-corporate and institutional interests, are shaping the race.
  • Senator Gary Peters, previously neutral, now supporting Stevens and echoing the Obama narrative:
    • Quote: "Haley began her service to Michigan as a critical part of our team as President Obama and I fought to save 200,000 jobs..." – Gary Peters, sitting senator ([05:20]).
  • Underlying concern: establishment circling wagons as polls tighten between Stevens and El-Sayed.

• Union Endorsement Confusion

  • While super PACs suggest Stevens is the "auto workers" candidate, the United Auto Workers (UAW) actually endorsed El-Sayed.
  • UAW had to issue a cease and desist for unauthorized use of their logo in ads for Stevens ([06:57]).

• Obama’s Legacy and Popularity

  • Krystal criticizes the Democratic Party’s continued reverence for Obama, arguing it’s based on vibes, not policy outcomes ([09:00]).
    • Quote: "To me, it's all vibes based, because empirically, he chose Hillary. She was a total disaster...His legacy is the election of Donald Trump." – Krystal ([09:13])
  • Saagar attributes nostalgia for Obama to a yearning for a "simpler" pre-Trump era and his exceptional charisma, especially among older and Black voters ([10:03]).

Memorable Segment

• Comparison to Reagan
  • Krystal draws a parallel to Republicans’ idolization of Ronald Reagan, regardless of policy misalignment:
    • Quote: "That's the ultimate problem...people feel this immense affection for Reagan simply because he was deeply charismatic, which is...the ultimate problem...with a lot of our politics." ([12:14])

Segment Timestamps

• Michigan race overview and ad analysis: [02:11]–[07:00]
• UAW and endorsement disputes: [06:57]–[08:41]
• Obama’s legacy debate and generational analysis: [08:41]–[13:13]
• Broader implications for party and primary voters: [13:13]–[15:02]

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2. FanDuel, Gambling Addiction, and Bryce Harper’s Involvement

Key Discussion Points

• The FanDuel Scandal

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer uncovers how FanDuel courted "whale" gambler Terry Thompson, whose addiction lost him $1.5M, including gifts and a personalized Bryce Harper video ([18:32]–[19:41]).
  • Video from Harper, arranged via Cameo by a FanDuel host, is cited as a reward for heavy betting.

• Harper’s Response and Scrutiny

  • Harper denies knowing the video was for commercial use, says it was purchased on Cameo as a "personal" holiday video ([21:00]).
  • Krystal skeptical:
    • Quote: “It strains credulity that Bryce would say, I had no idea that FanDuel would do this…” ([21:20])
  • Critique of Harper’s defense as “I just read the script” and questions why a multimillionaire would record Cameos for $900.

• Industry Practices and Societal Impact

  • Discussion on how gambling companies use personalized attention, gifts, and direct outreach to exploit “whales” – top losers who bankroll the business ([22:53]–[24:01]).
  • Krystal draws analogy:
    • Quote: “This is the equivalent of Bud Light finding its top alcoholics, getting Peyton Manning to record a personal video for them, and that alcoholic nearly dying... That is how scummy this behavior is.” ([23:02])
  • Questions the normalization and legality of these tactics, contrasting with regulations in alcohol and tobacco sectors.

• Athletes and the Endorsement Debate

  • Saagar: There’s truth to the argument that celebrity endorsements of gambling, alcohol, etc., are broadly unethical, and highlights Kylian Mbappé as a rare star who refuses such deals ([24:13]).
    • Quote: “I actually think they do have a point. We probably should be going after Peyton Manning... for his Bud Light deals, or whatever, because it is gross.” – Saagar ([24:02])

• Addiction, Societal Costs, and Policy

  • Krystal explains why these practices are so harmful:
    • “...If you participate in gambling, Terry is the only reason you're allowed to make your little bets. The vast majority of gambling profits comes from the top 6% of gamblers. All their losses, they underwrite the operation for everything.” ([27:56])
  • Notes that gambling (like alcohol and cigarettes) is a "sin industry" that profits off its most afflicted customers ([28:00]).
  • Points out that Pennsylvania and Illinois, pioneers in legalized online gaming, now face significant public health and societal costs ([29:00]).
    • Quote: “Illinois... happens to be a hub for legal gambling... ever since the legalization, we can now see that an estimated 1 million Illinois residents are now compulsive gamblers or at risk of becoming one.” – Krystal ([29:25])

• Moral and Regulatory Conclusions

  • Both hosts argue for stricter standards, more critical scrutiny of how gambling addiction is enabled and profited from, and urge celebrities to exercise responsibility.
  • Saagar: “Let’s pull down every single barrier and allow these companies to run wild and prey on people who are suffering with a genuine addiction disorder. It’s really, really sick. Really dark.” ([30:25])

Segment Timestamps

• FanDuel and Bryce Harper segment begins: [17:45]
• Philadelphia Inquirer audio and case summary: [18:32]–[19:41]
• Harper’s statement and critique: [21:00]–[22:53]
• Broader conversation on gambling industry ethics/addiction: [24:01]–[30:40]

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Notable Quotes

• “If President Obama trusts her, so do I.” – Michigan voter/ad ([03:02])
• “That's the ultimate problem...people feel this immense affection for Reagan simply because he was deeply charismatic...” – Krystal ([12:14])
• “It strains credulity that Bryce would say, I had no idea that FanDuel would do this…” – Krystal ([21:20])
• “This is the equivalent of Bud Light finding its top alcoholics, getting Peyton Manning to record a personal video for them... That is how scummy this behavior is.” – Krystal ([23:02])
• “Let’s pull down every single barrier and allow these companies to run wild and prey on people who are suffering with a genuine addiction disorder. It’s really, really sick. Really dark.” – Saagar ([30:25])

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Episode Structure and Tone

• The conversation is candid, passionate, and highly critical of establishment tactics and predatory business models.
• Krystal and Saagar use direct, sometimes harsh language.
• They mix policy analysis with personal and cultural observations, maintaining their signature blend of left/right honesty.

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Useful for Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This summary covers the essential analyses, arguments, and moments from the latest Breaking Points, showing how political and economic power can mislead voters and, separately, how the commercialization of addiction devastates ordinary people—all told with the hosts’ distinctive balance of data, skepticism, and sharp opinion.

Transcript

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[Krystal Ball]

Hey guys, Sagar and Krystal here.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election and we are so excited about what that means for the future of this show.

[Krystal Ball]

This is the only place where you can find honest perspectives from the left and the right that simply does not exist anywhere else.

[Saagar Enjeti]

So if that is something that's important to you, Please go to BreakingPoints.com, become a member today and you'll get access to our full shows unedited ad free and all put together for you every morning in your inbox.

[Krystal Ball]

We need your help to build the future of independent news media and we hope to see [e-mail]

[Saagar Enjeti]

so we wanted to turn to the Michigan Senate Democratic primary where Haley Stevens, the establishment darling, is up against Abdul EL Sayed, the left wing insurgent. And there's a new tactic being deployed from Stevens and Stevens Allied Groups to make it seem like maybe, kind of sorta, she was endorsed by Obama. Let's go ahead and take a look at one of these ads.

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My husband worked at Ford for 41 years.

[CarMax Advertiser]

My father worked for General Motors for 30 years.

[Krystal Ball]

And when they came for our auto

[Tony Ayo]

jobs, Hailey Stevens stood up.

[Saagar Enjeti]

She was chief of staff to President Obama's auto rescue. And Haley Stevens, by the way, she was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry come roaring back.

[Krystal Ball]

That saved 200,000 doll hundred thousand Michigan jobs.

[Tony Ayo]

She helped save jobs for my own family.

[Saagar Enjeti]

If President Obama trusts her, so do I.

[Krystal Ball]

Stronger Michigan is responsible for the content of this ad.

[Saagar Enjeti]

President Obama trusts her and so do I. Stevens has millions of dollars, 10 more than tens of millions of dollars flooding into this race on her behalf from a variety of super PACs, including some that are backed by a pack. This is a mailer that's going out to homes around Michigan that says similar quotes. Haley Stevens was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry come roaring back. President Barack Obama, Detroit Free Press opinion. Black Michiganders will help decide Michigan's U.S. senate primary. This one is from one of the AIPAC Allied Super PACs. And you've had Michigan voters who are taking in this content assume that it means that she is fully endorsed by Barack Obama, which she is not. He is not endorsed in this race. Of course he could pipe up and make that clear. He has chosen not to do that at this point. But at any. You have some voters who are saying that I'm gonna vote for Haley Stevens based on these ads. Let's go ahead and put the first part of D2 up on the screen. This is one couple that was quoted saying that President Obama is the reason they're voting for Haley Stevens. Quote, they put a lot of money behind Haley. We don't know a whole lot about him being Abdul Al said. I asked about aipac. The mill said they are not anti Israel, but what's happening in Gaza is a genocide. So these are people ideologically align with Abdul Al said. But Barack Obama's word means so much to them that they are, you know, they are voting with the person who is not ideologically aligned with them because they have been basically tricked into believing that Obama backs him.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, this is a classic strategy by many politicians. I've seen it with Trump as well where somebody Trump will endorse somebody like in 2020 and then they'll actually he won't endorse them in 2024, but he'll be running their endorsement back from 2020 be like the previously Trump end candidate who is in this race. So it's not like it hasn't happened before, but it is very Obviously being boosted by titanic amounts of money. And that's part of the. That's part of the reason why we're even covering it is the amount of money in this primary is shocking, like tens of millions of dollars. Some of it appears to be a pac, but a lot of it seems to be more institutional interests as well. So it's like pro corporate, all of these other influences which are in the state. The part that really stuck to me was Gary Peters. Can we put D6 up here on the screen? He previously said he's the sitting senator. He's the person who she is running to replace. He previously had said that he was going to sit out of the entire primary. He's like, oh, whoever wins, we'll let him win. And it appears now that El Sayad is coming at least within striking distance. It seems to be tied in the polls here with Haley Stevens, that he has come out and explicitly said, I'm all in for Haley Stevens. And even his announcement makes it clear that this Obama thing is part of their strategy. Quote, haley began her service to Michigan as a critical part of our team. As president, Obama and I fought to save 200,000 jobs, rescuing and helping the auto industry come roaring back. I'm proud to have. Haley was recognized as the most effective Michigan Democrat in Congress. So they are leaning heavily back on that auto bailout from 2010 to. To boost her chances in her previous association with Obama, the last Democrat really, to win the state overwhelmingly. Which shows part of the problems, I think, for the Democrats in terms of actually trying to turn this seat, you know, solidly blue this time around for Slotkin. I mean, she barely won by election,

[Saagar Enjeti]

but it was close.

[Krystal Ball]

It was very close.

[Saagar Enjeti]

In 2020. Slotkin won it, but it was fairly, fairly close. I think she might have outperformed Biden a little bit.

[Krystal Ball]

She did, actually, because he lost. He lost the state of Michigan. She won, but he won.

[Saagar Enjeti]

The state of Michigan did Biden's.

[Krystal Ball]

Oh, man.

[Saagar Enjeti]

While you're looking that up, there's another element of this. We didn't pull this particular screenshot, but at the same time they're trying to suggest, like, oh, this is Obama's candidate. The uaw, United Auto Workers have endorsed Abdul. And they're also, some of the super PACs backing Haley are also trying to suggest that she's the candidate of the auto workers, even though the actual auto workers endorsed her opponent. And the UAW actually had to issue a cease and desist to one of the super PACs that is backing them because they used the UAW's logo in election ads that were promoting a candidate not endorsed by the union. So this is the sort of tactics, and if Abdul loses, like, this ploy will have been successful. I think the other thing is it's a testament to how popular Obama remains in the party that they feel that he is the best validator that she could possibly have, especially with black voters. I do think that his word continues to be very powerful in the party. He's still one of the most popular politicians, if not the most popular popular politician in the entire country. So even though I have my feelings about the disappointment of Obama, many other people do as well. Overall, broadly among sort of normie voters, he still has a lot of popularity. This race also pits him de facto because of these quotes that Haley Stevens is pulling from the past versus Bernie Sanders, who actually did endorse Abdul and that Abdul has been featuring in his ads. Bernie Sanders being probably the second most popular politician in the entire country. So there's an interesting dynamic there as well. Bernie has always done really well in Michigan. That was back in 2016 when he was running against Hillary. That was sort of like his miracle comeback. He wins the state of Michigan. It seemed like maybe he had a shot at getting the whole thing, but. So in any case, he has only grown in popularity in the state over time.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, Trump did win Michigan, barely in 2020. Oh, no, sorry, 2024. That's what I was talking about for Slotkin, because she won.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I got you. But in 2020, no, in 2020, Biden won Michigan. All right, we were there, we were talking about.

[Krystal Ball]

But it was actually very close. It was like 2% back in 2020. Whereas if you look at the 2016 or, sorry, the 2012 and the 2008 margins, it's crazy how much Obama, how much Trump flipped the map overall. I do think, to the Obama point, this is fascinating. I do not understand why this man still has so much affection in the Democratic Party. To me, it's all vibes based, because empirically, he chose Hillary. She was a total disaster. He told Biden, who was still cognizant at that time, not to run, even though he might have been able actually to win the election whenever his brain was still not completely all mush. His legacy is the election of Donald Trump. And nobody can look back at the time period, and say, well, even though we had all these nice vibes of hope and change, the fact that it was immediately, you know, that immediately was followed by. By the Trump era, means things were not all Hunky dory. And yet simply because I think he's rhetorically articulate, that's. And you know, I guess like overperformed dramatically in 2008, that all these Democrats are like.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I long for why, you know, I think it is. I think it's because he's objectively a bad president. I think it's for a couple of reasons. Obviously I agree with your analysis, but if I have to put myself in the shoes of like, why people have this nostalgic yearning for him, which in some sense I do kind of feel, because he represents the pre Trump era. So it's like, well, so then you

[Krystal Ball]

long for an age, you don't long for Obama.

[Saagar Enjeti]

But I'm not trying to explain it rationally, but in terms of people's sense of things. Right. Cuz I agree with you if the fact that Trump comes immediately after Obama is kind of an indictment of Obama and nobody ever talks about that, but that is real. In any case, I think there's this sense of like, politics were simpler, they were more aspirational. There's this kind of sense of the pre Trump era that comes along with the feeling of what Obama was objectively. And then you also have, like you said, very, very talented, very charming, funny. You know, he's got all the things. And him being the historic first black president, you know, obviously that carries a lot of weight with a lot of people, but especially with black voters. And so you put all those pieces together and even though it drives me craz that he barely ever pops up and does politics at all, it's like when he wants to crush a left wing insurgency, that's when he pipes up or does something behind the scenes. Like when he made sure to line up all the ducks so that Joe Biden could get through ultimately and crush Bernie Sanders. Even though that irritates me, the fact that he has remained kind of above the fray and doesn't dive into every political issue of the day, I think also gives him a bit of a halo with the population.

[Krystal Ball]

I think I kind of get it because I have this problem with a lot of Republican friends worship Reagan. And I'm like, guys, like Reagan was, you know, sure, he was nice. Like, he was, you know, he spoke well, he was very charismatic, the whole jelly beans thing. But then when we look at the issues that they purport to care about from immigration or neoconservatives or taxpayer, like, oh, yeah, I'm like, what about this? What about this? What about this? They're like, oh, I didn't really know any of that. I'm like, yeah, it was really bad. So I'm like, why do we still have to worship Ronald Reagan, the architect

[Saagar Enjeti]

of the horrors that we're living through now? Like, you can go back to Reagan with almost everything. Yeah.

[Krystal Ball]

And so I'm like, well, I'm like, why don't we worship? And they're like, but Nixon was bad. I'm like, well, what about, you know, I have to talk about Environmental Protection act, the realism, you know, in terms of his relationship with big government, the post Eisenhower Republican. And a lot of them are like, oh, yeah, you know, it does seem like Nixon really aligns much more with my politics than Reagan. And yet they feel this immense, like, this immense affection for Reagan simply because he was deeply charismatic, which is, you know, kind of the ultimate problem, I think, with a lot of our politics. But yeah, if anything, my message to a lot of these Democrats, it's like Obama's hold on the boomer mind is unbelievable. Like the way that they worship the ground that he walks on when it's like, if you look at the trajectory, even having lived through it, also having seen what came after, it's like he was not good at actually putting or fulfilling any of the things that he wanted to do. Like from 2008, if you actually look at the overall record from the war bailouts, I mean, the biggest everything was handed. He lost the House majority.

[Saagar Enjeti]

You know, yeah, Obamacare is a horrible product.

[Krystal Ball]

Like, yeah.

[Saagar Enjeti]

And that was the big signature item. Like when you think of Obama, you think of Obamacare, obviously. And I think at this point everybody knows that it was not enough the problems with it, et cetera. But it'll be an interesting test to see if this works in Michigan. And it might, honestly might, I will say they really, they tried a kind of similar playbook with Daria. Lisa, granted, you know, it's New York City, it's very different. But they thought that her saying F. Kamala Harris would be the killer blow for her. They really, you know, they sent out mailers, you know, especially in there's a large black community in her district. Went out to all those people and it didn't work. She won black voters in the district. So it may be a new day for this stuff. And also, so there you had her directly criticizing Kamala Harris here. The best they have with Abdul said is he one time said that Michelle Obama's move campaign was well intentioned but ineffectual, which AIPAC is also true. Which is true. And has a public health professional. He understood at the time and continues to understand. But in any case, they're running that as an ad also to try to be like, see, he doesn't even like Michelle Obama. So we'll see if it works. There is he is getting dramatically outspent by any superpower.

[Krystal Ball]

That's why I'm covering it, because you shouldn't discount it is in that because I remember looking at his polling, he's wildly popular with young people, still neck and neck or underwater whenever it comes to seniors. And guess who votes? The median primary voter is like 55 years old. So this is the system that we have. That's part of the reason why he said we should freeze property tax. One of the most naked, disgusting political gambits I've ever seen. But everyone was like, oh, this fucker wants to win. So I guess that's what he needs

[Saagar Enjeti]

to win over seniors.

[Krystal Ball]

He's got to win, I guess if he gets screwed over. And even though he bent the knee to the old lobby, I will never let him live it down. All right, let's get to gambling.

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[Glenn Washington]

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[Krystal Ball]

Turning now to gambling, the Philadelphia Enquirer has come out with a new investigation involving a fanduel gambling whale named Terry Thompson, who is suing the company, saying that they enabled his gambling addiction. I've talked previously extensively about how these gambling companies have VIP hosts which shower gifts, AKA, you know, losses that are converted into making you feel better about yourself. And in one of these gifts, FanDuel's VIP host named Brittany reached out to the MLB star Bryce Harper and got him to record a video for the habitual gambler Terry Thompson, who eventually lost millions of dollars on the platform and had police had to come into his home to prevent him from committing suicide. So with all that being said, let's take a listen to the Philadelphia Inquirer's investigation into this.

[Philadelphia Inquirer Narrator]

A personal video message from Bryce Harper arrived on the cell phone of a habitual Sports Bettor in November 2024. Hey Terry.

[Tony Ayo]

What's up brother?

[Orderly Meds Advertiser]

Hey man.

[Krystal Ball]

Your host, Brittany from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special.

[Philadelphia Inquirer Narrator]

Montgomery county resident named Terry Thompson lost $1.5 million on with FanDuel sportsbook during the last six years. In February, Terry was diagnosed with a gambling addiction. While Thompson gambled away his family's life savings, he allegedly heard often from FanDuel employees. In a recently filed lawsuit, Thompson's attorneys allege that a FanDuel VIP employee enticed him to place more bets by giving him exclusive rewards like a $500 bottle of champagne and tickets to two Super Bowls. The video from Hart Harper, the face of the Phillies and a two time National League Most Valuable Player, was another reward. In March, attorneys for the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed a lawsuit on Terry Thompson's behalf against FanDuel and DraftKings. By then, Thompson was in deep financial ruin. He couldn't bear to tell his family the scope of his losses, so he texted his therapist and indicated that he was planning to take his life. Thompson is now undergoing treatment for gambling addiction.

[Krystal Ball]

So you could see Krystal from that video. Bryce said, hey, your host from FanDuel, Brittany, wanted to make sure that you had a great Thanksgiving. Obviously this ignited a lot of questions because Bryce Harper, by the way, is supposedly a devout Mormon, which is, you know, okay, so supposed to be against gambling, right? We also know that the MLB is currently locked in some controversy with the gambling companies because of advertising deals. There has been a lot of consternation about the players themselves and their relationship with gambling companies. And initially there was a lot of speculation. Did Bryce Harper have some sort of secret deal with FanDuel? Harper, by the way, has come out with a statement denying all of this. Here is his total response. He says, I did not know fanduel would do this. I did not consent to it. Fanduel had no right to do it. What he says is that an individual named Brittany paid the $899 fee for his personal videos on Cameo and that they were given through the personal section as a holiday video for Terry. He claims Cameo has a separate category for business video requests. At the time, I did not know this video would be used for commercial purposes. The request included a short script. I read it in good faith. And he says, again, I had no idea fanduelda would do this. I did not consent to it. Here's the problem for Mr. Harper. Here's the script by his own admission, which he posted. Here's a script that Brittany reached out to him. Hey, Terry. Your host, Brittany from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special. So I just wanted to hop on and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Tell Blank son I said hello. Can add his own personal touches to the above as well. It strains credulity that Bryce would say, I had no idea that fanduel would do this. And look, maybe if you know absolutely nothing about gambling, you can say, I didn't know what a FanDuel host was. Bryce Harper, I can virtually certain knows at least a little bit about sports gambling just from engaging with sports media and others. Most people like myself who are familiar with the gambling industry know that host from FanDuel is a well known thing like a casino host. Basically what they do is they encourage ultra rich people to gamble on the platform and in exchange they shower you again with gifts, which are just ways to make you feel better. Also, as the Philadelphia Inquirer video showed you, I mean, scumbag behavior. Hey, Terry, you hit a big one. You're on a roll. You're due for a win. You're due, Harry. That's why you need to deposit even more money in these programs and they give you free tickets. Again, it's not free. You probably paid for it many times over in terms of your overall losses. I think what this highlights to me, first of all, why is a guy worth hundreds of millions of dollars doing $900 videos on Cameo? Sorry, that's weird. All right, what's up with that number two? You know, his, his defense basically is I'm an idiot. I read the script verbatim and I didn't know that it was gonna be from fanduel. Okay. If we wanna go with that in terms of the I have a low IQ defense and then tertiary, I think, and probably the biggest one. This is the lengths that these companies go to to keep these whales addicted.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah.

[Krystal Ball]

How? I mean, I mean, can you imagine? Cuz I was tweeting a lot about this, by the way, the Phillies fans are all furious with me over it, saying I'm unjustly going after Bryce Harper. And I'm curious for your reaction. Somebody said, why don't you go after Peyton Manning for doing Bud Light commercials? And I'm like, cuz by that logic he's, you know, he is just as guilty. This is the equivalent of Bud Light finding its top alcoholics, getting Peyton Manning to record a personal video for them, and that alcoholic nearly dying of a sclerotic limb and then money being exchanged hands in between. That is how scummy this behavior is. It's totally normalized. And worse, it is totally legal. Cigarette companies do not contact their top smokers and say, thank you so much for smoking. Here's some free stuff. You gotta keep smoking. Hey, haven't ripped a few darts today, Terry, you gotta rip a few more. Why don't you go at. It's the only industry where this is normalized. And it's all because this is the way they make money. The Terry's of the world make up the vast majority of their products.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yes, correct.

[Krystal Ball]

That's the biggest problem.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah, I mean, In a sense, the people who are saying, why don't you go after Peyton Manning or whoever for their Bud Light commercials, they do have a bit of a point that it is gross. By the way, I wouldn't do a Bud Light commercial.

[Krystal Ball]

You know, like, by the way, you know what's funny? I remember Cameo reached out to us five years ago and we're like, why? No, Like, I'm not right.

[Tony Ayo]

Yeah.

[Krystal Ball]

It's like, I'm not gonna charge people for a personal video.

[Saagar Enjeti]

You'll never understand these people. This man is so wealthy and you're doing this penny anti bullshit for, you know, to fuel someone gambling addiction. That's very. I will never, never understand that. But it is true that we have created this climate of commercialization that it is anything go that you can slap your likeness on a financial product or something addictive like Bud Light or alcohol or cigarettes or gambling or whatever. And it has been sort of normalized. So then when someone like Bryce Harper gets this FanDuel script, he doesn't think anything of it because this is especially in sports. Gambling has become so intertwined in every aspect of it that he probably didn't like, he didn't even blink. It was like, all right, FanDuel host. Sure, why not? Here we go. I'm just ripping through these videos on Cameo. For whatever reason, I'm trying to earn my extra thousand dollars on top of my massive multimillion dollar salary. So in a sense, I actually think that they do have a point. We probably should be going after Peyton Manning also for his Bud Light deals or whatever because it is gross. And I know you've pointed out there is another way Kylian Mbappe has showed us that you can actually B5 let's beat up on prominent athlete and have some sort of standards here. He has refused to put his likeness associated with any sort of gambling product. He says sports betting is destructive. It's ruined the lives of some people I know refuse to appear in sports betting advertisements. Many of us come from the suburbs. It destroys the lives of countless people there. And this is one of the top footballers in the world, France's top player. And he's drawn a line in the sand around this. And you were saying also around fast food, which is interesting as well, which is also an addictive product. So I find encourage prominent people to have more standards for themselves.

[Krystal Ball]

And that is the whole reason I want to do this segment. Everybody knows FanDuel and DraftKings are okay. And I have extensively detailed multiple segments and monologues here of how many times they've done this to the Terry's of the world. By the way, you read the lawsuit. It's heartbreaking. Terry had never placed a bet in his life before the year 2020. And by 2026 he's broke and nearly committed suicide. Lost his house, lost his entire life saving. So I'm sorry if you're complicit in that. You're a piece of shit in my opinion. And especially if you're sitting there texting somebody saying, hey, you know, you gotta hit another one and all of that. It's horrible. Like, what would you think of somebody going around to crack addicts legally and then dangling crack in front of their faces, being like, why haven't you got any more crack today? You gotta go and get some more. We would rightfully be like, you are scum. Absolute scum of the earth. And yet we allow this. By the way, again, for everybody who comes after me and says it's free choice and freedom and all of that, does this make you free? Terry doesn't look so free to me. Terry, in another time he would have been in a debtor's prison. And fundamentally, if you participate in gambling, Terry is the only reason you're allowed to make your little bets. The vast majority of gambling profits comes from the top 6% of gamblers. And all their losses, they underwrite the operation for everything. That's why they have these host programs. It's like with frequent flyers. The reason why United States cares more about its top, its premier 1k customers is because they make up the vast majority of the operating revenue. Your little once a flight Thanksgiving trip, we don't give a shit about you. This is how most industries operate, but especially sin industries. The vast majority of alcohol is drank by alcoholics, by the top 10% of drinkers. The vast majority of cigarettes are smoked by the top 10% of smokers. It is the same in any, any sin industry. That is why we always treated it with immense contempt. We tried to push it to the back rooms and kept it to the mob. But I'm honestly, would you even like this behavior? I wouldn't even think that the mob would do anything this scummy to go out and to so viciously enable and encourage gambling addicts like this. And so that's the society that we live in. It's totally legal. Pennsylvania, by the way, is one of the few states where not only is this legal, they also have legal Igaming. You could play blackjack and slots on your phone with 5G Internet. What possible good could ever come from that? Why? And why do they do it? Tax revenue. And yet, I mean, how much tax revenue will be spent on police resources for having to be sent to Terry's house? How much tax revenue and societal cost will there be from broken homes, families, the amount of domestic violence that goes up and it's skyrocketing. That's my last soapbox thing here. E4. Go ahead and take a look. Absolute shocker. Illinois, which happens to be a hub for legal gambling and where Illinoisans lost $7.7 billion last year. Single state, ever since they legalized gambling. Well, guess what? Ever since the legalization, we can now see that an estimated 1 million Illinois residents are now compulsive gamblers or at risk of becoming one. So that is again, this is a addiction with the highest rate of any addiction known to mankind, of suicide and depression. And so we've all just decided that we're gonna normalize this, that the Terry's of the world will underwrite us it all so that podcasters in the sports world can get filthy rich and a whole bunch of gambling companies can continue to underwrite. If you like sports, the integrity of this game is long gone at this point. You cannot trust so much of the stuff in front of you. And tens of millions of Americans in the next 10 years, especially young men, will both be broke and B will have addiction, an addiction with the highest rate of suicide and depression. And it was all an affirmative choice that we just said, yeah, let's go ahead and do it.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Let's pull down every single barrier and allow these companies to run wild and prey on people who are suffering with a genuine addiction disorder. It's really, really sick. Really dark.

[Krystal Ball]

All right, soapbox over. Thank you so much for watching guys. We really appreciate it. We will have a great show for everybody tomorrow and we'll see you all then.

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