A scandal involving illegal sports betting and fraud has rocked the NBA. A coach and an active professional player have been provisionally arrested. They maintain their innocence and have made accusations of their own.
Following their sensational arrests on charges including betting fraud and alleged mafia connections, NBA coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat pro Terry Rozier are back on the loose. The two maintain their innocence in two parallel cases in which a total of 34 people were arrested, including some with links to organized crime. FBI chief Kash Patel spoke of an “inconceivable fraud.”
Billups is the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and was previously a star player—the 2004 champion with the Detroit Pistons is a member of the elite basketball league’s Hall of Fame. Anyone who believes the prosecution also believes that Billups “would risk his legacy as a Hall of Fame player, his reputation, and his freedom,” said his lawyer, Chris Heywood. “He wouldn’t put all that on the line, especially not for a card game.”
Lawyer: Arrests were a public show
The 49-year-old and 30 other people are accused of fraudulent poker involving the Mafia. Other players who, according to investigators, unsuspectingly participated in specially organized celebrity card games with Billups or former Cleveland Cavaliers pro Damon Jones, who is also charged, are said to have been cheated out of at least $7 million.
While the temporarily suspended coach appeared before a judge in Portland, Rozier was taken to federal court in Orlando, Florida. Both were released on bail. Rozier’s lawyer, Jim Trusty, said his client was not a gambler. He criticized the authorities for the arrest, saying they wanted to publicly humiliate the player. Rozier appeared in court wearing a shirt from his former team, the Charlotte Hornets, handcuffs, and shackles.
Rozier already under scrutiny for betting manipulation
The 31-year-old and other defendants are charged with insider betting. Among other things, internal team information was allegedly leaked to people who then placed bets. Players also allegedly deliberately manipulated their performance on the court to generate high betting profits.
Rozier had already been investigated by the league in March 2023 for suspicious bets placed by other individuals on the number of points, rebounds, and assists he was expected to achieve in a game. Rozier had left the game in question early, citing injury as the reason. He was not charged with any wrongdoing at the time.
