Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world.
You may have seen some news floating around about a former The Bachelor contestant winning $1 million over the weekend from DraftKings thanks to her daily fantasy lineup. But you may have also seen some news that there’s possibly controversy surrounding that win, especially because it may involve her husband (who’s also an alumnus of The Bachelor). And you may be very confused by all that.
Luckily, that’s what we’re here for and hopefully we can clear up the confusion. Let’s break down what we know so far.
Who is involved?
Jade Roper Tolbert was a contestant on The Bachelor during its 19th season. She later appeared on Bachelor in Paradise in 2015 and ended up marrying Tanner Tolbert.
And how did she win $1 million?
Tolbert finished in first place in a DraftKings’ contest, in which players put together a fantasy lineup and accrue the most possible points to defeat fellow owners:
Hahaha that’s me! And Tanner told me I shouldn’t play DK Metcalf! 🤣🤪 https://t.co/Ry25Kuq4k9
— Jade Roper Tolbert (@jadelizroper) January 6, 2020
Doesn’t even feel real over here! Officially speechless. LIKE WHAAAAAAAAT. 🤯🥳🥳🥳😵 https://t.co/7yMFZtI4Au
— Jade Roper Tolbert (@jadelizroper) January 6, 2020
What’s the problem here?
Tolbert was accused on Twitter of cheating because she and her husband both submitted the maximum 150 entries (with different lineups) that each user is allowed to put into a given contest. And that has lead to people thinking they colluded, submitting diverse lineups to get to 300 unique entries instead of the allotted 150.
Awesome, i just signed my wife, son and daughter up for DK. Cant wait to drop 600 lineups with no overlap next week.
— Bits and Bits and Bits (@TheJoeHoffman) January 6, 2020
Is that really against the rules?
According to DraftKings, yep. This is listed under “unacceptable behaviors”:
Team-building complementary lineups which serve to work together AND executing a strategy that may create any unfair advantage over individual play.
Example A: You and 2 of your friends coordinate the makeup of the lineups you build AND coordinate which contests you enter using them.
What has DraftKings said about this?
Statement from @DraftKings on brewing controversy involving former Bachelor contestant winning $1 million contest: "We take the integrity and fairness of our contests very seriously and are looking into this matter."
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) January 6, 2020
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