Gambler pleads guilty to threatening Rays players, other athletes

A sports gambler with a history of allegedly sending threatening messages to professional athletes via social media is facing up to five years in federal prison. 

Per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), 24-year-old Benjamin Tucker Patz of Napa, California, pleaded guilty Wednesday to making violent threats to athletes via social media in 2019. According to Dan Sullivan of the Tampa Bay Times, Patz claimed to have won more than $1 million gambling on sports but also allegedly sent more than 300 threatening messages to professional and college athletes and to family members of athletes. 

Specifically, Patz pleaded guilty to messaging four Tampa Bay Rays players and one Chicago White Sox player in the summer of 2019. "Your family will be beheaded," read one of Patz's messages. 

Under the maximum sentence, Patz could go to prison for five years and receive a $250,000 fine. 

The AP added that Patz allegedly sent threatening messages to two Los Angeles Rams players after the Rams fell to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, a result that reportedly cost Patz at least $10,000 in gambling losses. 

One account linked with Patz reportedly threatened a Sweden Women's National Team footballer after Sweden defeated Germany in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal round. Players from six other MLB teams are also mentioned in the complaint against Patz.