Polymarket and its high-profile celebrity endorsers are facing intense public backlash following the creation of a prediction market on the platform’s international site regarding the legal status of seven men accused of sexual assault. The market allowed users to wager money on whether any of the seven male defendants tied to a civil lawsuit filed by a Cornell University student would face felony sex crime charges before the contract closed. As criticism mounted across social media and advocacy circles, representatives for prominent endorsers such as LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Sue Bird, and Reggie Bush remained silent as pressure mounted over their association with the crypto-prediction platform. Attorney Cheyenne Hunt publicly condemned the wager on social media by describing the market as dehumanizing and dangerous while questioning whether celebrity ambassadors wanted their names tied to such content. An advocacy organization focused on sexual assault also issued statements criticizing both the platform and the celebrities who lend their influence and credibility to promote it.
Polymarket Faces Backlash Over ‘Cornell 7’ Bets
The platform defended the decision through an official spokesperson, arguing that prediction markets provide objective and data-driven insight into how significant legal and public events move through the legal system. According to the company, the contract offered transparency on a topic that deserves honest public attention rather than disinformation. The market initially launched on September 30 on the platform’s international app, remaining separate from its federally regulated U.S. counterpart overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. By early Monday afternoon, trading volume reached $451,633, with users pricing a roughly 28 percent chance that felony charges would be brought before the market resolution date of January 31, 2027. The underlying civil lawsuit was filed on September 16 by a plaintiff who alleges she was drugged and gang-raped in 2024, naming Cornell University, seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, and the fraternity itself as defendants.
Local authorities previously investigated the 2024 incident, resulting in the Tompkins County district attorney choosing not to bring criminal charges at that time, though the office has since reopened its probe following the civil filing. Cornell officials stated that the university issued disciplinary sanctions including expulsions and suspensions after conducting its own internal review of the situation. Market context provided on the platform indicated that traders currently place a nearly 73 percent chance that no felony sex crime charges will be filed against the defendants, citing the high bar for criminal prosecution and the previous decision to decline charges. Following the widespread public outcry and intense scrutiny, Polymarket removed the market from its international platform. Whether the reopened investigation ultimately results in criminal indictments remains a central question as legal proceedings continue.
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