Dr. Boyce Watkins, a Finance PhD and founder of The Black Business School, and his wife, Dr. Alicia Watkins, a licensed therapist and Full Professor of Social Work at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, are publicly calling out LeBron James and Kevin Hart for promoting sports betting as entertainment — when it is rapidly becoming one of the most dangerous forms of predatory finance in modern America.
Sports gambling is exploding at an alarming rate. Legal wagers in the U.S. have surged from under $5 billion in 2017 to over $120 billion in 2023, driven largely by aggressive celebrity-backed marketing and mobile apps designed to addict users. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates 2.5 million Americans now suffer from severe gambling addiction, with millions more at risk. Young men are being hit the hardest, and families are paying the price through debt, depression, and financial collapse.
“This is not harmless fun,” said Dr. Alicia Watkins. “This is the mass promotion of addiction for profit. When celebrities normalize gambling, they normalize trauma, poverty, and mental health breakdown in our communities.”
Dr. Boyce Watkins adds, “It is appalling to watch powerful Black men help corporations extract wealth from vulnerable families. This is predatory finance, plain and simple.”
Together, the Watkins have launched the first Black Financial Therapy Department, linking trauma, addiction, and financial decision-making — research they argue is essential to understanding the racial wealth gap.
Dr. Boyce Watkins was the only African American on Earth to earn a PhD in Finance in 2012, served on the faculty of Syracuse University for 12 years, and now teaches 10,000 people daily for free through The Black Business School (TheBlackBusinessSchool.com).
Learn more about Dr. Boyce Watkins at BoyceWatkins.com
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