TLDR
- Polymarket removed a market that let traders bet on whether any of seven Cornell fraternity members would face felony sex-crime charges.
- The market had $451,633 in trading volume, with traders pricing the chance of charges at about 28%.
- Advocates launched a petition urging celebrity endorsers, including LeBron James, to cut ties with the platform.
- James reportedly earns $15 million a year promoting Polymarket.
- The Tompkins County district attorney has reopened a criminal investigation that was initially declined in 2024.
Polymarket has removed a betting market tied to a sexual assault lawsuit involving seven Cornell University fraternity members. The move followed public pressure from advocates and questions from the press.
The market asked traders whether any of the seven men, known online as the “Cornell 7,” would be charged with a felony sex crime. It was available on Polymarket’s international platform but not its US app.
Before it was taken down, traders priced the chance of felony charges at roughly 28%. The market had drawn $451,633 in trading volume as of Monday afternoon.
Front Office Sports first reported the wager. Polymarket took the page offline after the New York Post contacted the company for comment.
Advocates Target Celebrity Endorsers
The market drew anger from sexual assault advocates. Many directed their criticism at the famous figures who promote the platform.
A petition titled “No Gambling on Gang Rape!” named LeBron James, Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Emily Ratajkowski and Alexandra Daddario. It urged them to end their relationships with Polymarket.
“This is dehumanizing, disgusting, and dangerous,” attorney Cheyenne Hunt wrote on Instagram. She asked the company’s celebrity ambassadors if they wanted to be associated with the market.
The petition also warned that letting people profit from a criminal case could give those with influence over it a reason to interfere. There is no known evidence of such interference in the Cornell investigation.
James earns $15 million a year promoting Polymarket, according to Front Office Sports. Other endorsers include former NFL players Reggie Bush and Richard Sherman and basketball player Sue Bird.
Alex Goldenberg, a senior fellow at Rutgers University’s Miller Center, said endorsing an exchange is different from endorsing a sneaker. He said endorsers should know which topics are off limits.
Polymarket Defends the Market
A Polymarket spokesperson told Front Office Sports that such markets can offer “objective, data-driven insight into how a matter like this is moving through the legal system.” The spokesperson also said campus sexual assault deserves more public attention.
Goldenberg disagreed. He said the platform rewards anyone with inside knowledge of a case, “from investigators to grand jurors to witnesses.”
Goldenberg advises BETINT, a firm that monitors prediction markets for insider trading. He said he has no financial ties to Polymarket or its rival Kalshi.
The nonprofit I Have The Right To also criticized the market. “What kind of culture looks at sexual violence and sees an opportunity for profit?” the group asked on Instagram.
The controversy centers on a civil lawsuit filed Sept. 16 in Manhattan Supreme Court by a woman identified as Jane Doe. She alleges that seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her on the night of Oct. 19, 2024, and into the next morning.
The 101-page complaint says the then-20-year-old student was given ketamine, marijuana and more alcohol at the fraternity house. The suit names Cornell, several fraternity and sorority groups and the seven men.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Cornell has said its disciplinary process led to sanctions including suspensions and expulsions.
The Tompkins County district attorney declined to file criminal charges in 2024 but has since reopened the investigation. Representatives for the athletes named in the petition did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
