In a stunning move on Thursday morning, federal law enforcement made over thirty arrests across the U.S. for a variety of gambling offenses. Caught up in the net were two prominent current members of the National Basketball Association. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and veteran player Terry Rozier were the notable names in the attack on alleged Mafioso gaming, while a former player and now coach, Damon Jones, also found himself under arrest.
Rozier Charged with Faking Injury, Altering Prop Lines
In the case of Rozier, the investigation focused on a particular NBA game from 2023. Rozier, then a member of the Charlotte Hornets, started the game against the New Orleans Pelicans but left after about nine minutes of game time. Rozier told team officials he had a foot injury, and they not only pulled him from that game but also shut him down for the remainder of the season (the Hornets had only eight games left on their schedule).
What was in question was Rozier’s production. Although he had a good start to the game with his limited time on the floor, scoring five points, four boards, and two assists, because he didn’t go back into the game, Rozier was way under what was expected to be his output for the game. The feds examined the relevant information, including the different proposition, or “prop,” bets that were up at the time. They determined that some shenanigans were going on, as a massive jump in betting on Rozier’s under total hit the books right before the game.
It is the one thing that players can directly affect in the world of gambling. While a single player might affect the outcome of the game, a player has tremendous ability to influence their performance. Because of the rise in prop betting since the explosion of sports betting in the U.S., there have been many cases in which players bet on their own performance and ensured they did not exceed their established line.
According to the Associated Press, Rozier, now a member of the Miami Heat who was on the bench for the season opener on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, was taken into custody early Thursday morning in Orlando. Rozier is part of a group of nine unnamed co-conspirators that include two former NBA players and a relative of Rozier who were named in the indictment.
Billups Charged in Massive High-Stakes Poker Game
For Billups, his involvement in high-stakes poker games is under scrutiny. Allegedly, Billups was a part of a scheme to fix these games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan, and the Hamptons. Making matters even worse, these alleged fixed poker games were reportedly backed by Mafia connections (the federal indictment cites the term for the New York Mafia, La Cosa Nostra, in Billups’ formal accusation).
The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella, had a simple message for those who were arrested for illegal gambling, money laundering, wire fraud, and other conspiracy charges (former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also nabbed). “My message to the defendants who’ve been rounded up today is this: Your winning streak has ended,” Nocella stated. “Your luck has run out.” Nocella also commented that it was “the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”
Since sports betting was legalized in 2018 after the U.S. Supreme Court, thirty-nine states, along with Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, have legalized either online sports betting, live sports betting, or both. It has resulted in several professional athletes being caught up in wagering on sports, an act that many professional leagues prohibit because of the potential to corrupt the games. In the cases of Rozier and Billups, who have been suspended indefinitely from their respective teams, it could result in their careers ending in the NBA and a stay in federal prison if they are convicted of their charges.
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