In a recent announcement in San Francisco, Venmo has revealed a new partnership with the NCAA aimed at supporting college athletes who experience harassment through the popular payment app. This collaboration, announced on Tuesday, allows for a reporting hotline for athletes and the NCAA to call in cases of potential abuse. The partnership stems from incidents like that of former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne, who reported receiving unwelcome payment requests from upset sports bettors after his team’s losses last season.
NCAA President Charlie Baker noted in a news release, “The harassment we are seeing across various online platforms is unacceptable, and we need fans to do better.” He praised Venmo for taking steps to address these issues, emphasizing the need for more social media companies and online platforms to follow suit.
As part of the initiative, Venmo plans to provide a best-practices guide for athletes to help them navigate their experience on the app safely. The company announced that it will keep a watchful eye on student-athletes’ accounts continuously to reduce the number of requests based on their game performance. Furthermore, Venmo is committed to collaborating directly with athletes to implement more security measures whenever necessary.
This announcement follows Venmo’s introduction of Big 12-branded debit cards in July, which features special perks aimed at tapping into their popularity among college students. The company believes it plays an integral role in connecting millions of college students, athletes, alumni, and fans as they manage money in their everyday lives. Geoff Seeley, chief marketing officer at Venmo’s parent company, PayPal, stated, “Venmo’s origins are on college campuses. It’s where our network took hold.”
In a further step to support college athletics, PayPal also announced back in June a partnership with both the Big 12 and Big Ten conferences. This partnership allows schools to pay their student-athletes directly through the PayPal platform.
This initiative between Venmo and the NCAA represents an important move to protect college athletes from online harassment while promoting a safer and more supportive digital environment.
