A few weeks ago, Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow was the victim of a home burglary, sparking an FBI investigation into a string of burglaries targeting professional athletes. Amid that investigation, the FBI has delivered a pretty clear warning.
NBC News has reported that the FBI has issued a warning to players regarding a series of burglaries, believed to be the work of South American organized theft groups.
According to NBC, these groups are known to conduct surveillance, assess security measures, and target professional athletes who are presumed to own high-value items and cash.
In light of this, players – including Burrow – have been cautioned against showcasing valuables on social media.
“The bureau recently issued the best-practices memo as part of a long-standing practice of communicating with private businesses about crime trends, a U.S. official briefed on the matter said,” NBC News reported this week.
“The memo, a ‘liaison information report,’ urges the leagues to advise athletes to limit imagery of valuables, such as cash, jewels and electronics, on their public accounts, the official said.”
Burrow was not the only professional athlete that was targeted in these burglaries.
The burglars targeted Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr., Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić, and the fiancée of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
Clearly, other athletes need to be very careful going forward.
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