Nina Westbrook, the wife of Sacramento Kings point guard Russell Westbrook, publicly shared an email she said she received, which wished for her and her husband to “die in a car crash” after he scored just five points in the Kings’ Thursday night loss to the Orlando Magic.
In an Instagram story on Friday, which included a screenshot of the email, Nina Westbrook tied the hostility to the growth of gambling culture, which has coincided with increased vitriol toward players and their families across sports. The Athletic could not independently verify the authenticity of the email. An email message sent to the sender’s address in the screenshot went unanswered.
In the expletive-laden message, the writer said Russell Westbrook “sucks to fckn bad can’t even get 10 points is pathetic I hope you both die in a car crash dumb b—-.”
The email did not specify whether the writer lost money on Thursday’s game, but Westbrook called out the death wish as likely being betting-related.
“The negative effects of sports betting. Brings out the worst in people smh,” she wrote in her post’s caption.
After Westbrook’s post went viral Friday morning, she shared a longer note thanking fans for their support and explaining her experience with hateful messages in the wake of the increased expansion of sports betting in recent years.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. It’s something my husband and I consider routine. With that said, I’m sharing this now because I’m growing increasingly concerned for athletes,” she wrote, citing her experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist.
“I felt it important to highlight the effects that sports betting has on individuals and how it puts athletes and their families in potentially dangerous positions.”
Many college and professional athletes have spoken publicly about receiving threats from people angry about lost wagers, with reactions ranging from disgust to dismissal. Players such as New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart told The Athletic last year that they regularly receive threats and comments wishing injuries upon them, along with racial attacks. Some said they don’t usually report such messages to the NBA because they receive so many or are trying not to take them seriously.
Similar behavior plagues college athletes, with an October survey by the NCAA finding 36 percent of Division I men’s basketball players reported experiencing online abuse related to sports betting in 2025. The survey included responses by 6,800 student-athletes from 163 schools.
Nina Westbrook admitted to not having “all the answers,” but said postgame threats have “proven to be one of the early results of amped up sports betting.”
Neither the Kings nor the NBA responded to requests for comment.