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Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested Thursday as part of a federal investigation into illegal betting activities, federal law enforcement officials said during a news conference in New York.
Rozier, 31, was taken into custody in Orlando, where the Heat played on Wednesday night. He was accused of telling members of a betting ring that he would leave a game early, allowing them to wager on his prop bets with the knowledge that he would not rack up stats. Rozier’s agent, Aaron Turner, confirmed Rozier was arrested in relation to the federal probe, but said the player planned to fight the charges, having been previously cleared by the NBA.
Billups, 49, a Hall of Fame player before he became a coach, and ex-Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Damon Jones were also arrested.
Prosecutors said at least two cases were pending separately but with some overlap and connections. One is related to sports betting, the other is related to poker games that prosecutors say were rigged.
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Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier arrested in federal gambling probe
In February, The Athletic's New York Knicks beat writer, James L. Edwards III, examined how sports betting has had an impact on NBA players. Here's an excerpt featuring the Knicks' All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson:
"After every game, when the duties of that night are complete and Jalen Brunson has a chance to unwind, he opens his phone to dozens and dozens of messages on social media.
"It doesn’t matter if he scores 40 points or 20 points. It doesn’t matter if the New York Knicks win by 30 points, two points or lose. The bulk of the messages tend to be the same: They threaten him and his family, including his months-old daughter. They call him racial slurs. They demand money.
"Brunson could do what he’s paid to do: play well and win basketball games. And yet, the star guard has spent many postgame nights sifting through harsh messages from people who wager money — sometimes large sums — on things they can’t control.
“'Genuinely threatened?' Brunson asked himself, pondering for a moment, after the question was posed by The Athletic. 'I’ve never felt genuinely threatened, but there has been some really disrespectful s— said. It’s a lot of people who don’t have profile pictures. There is part of me that has thought about airing them out, but s— always comes back around.'"
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The dark side of sports betting and its impact on NBA players: Death threats, racism and Venmo requests
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The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov joined host Es Baraheni on an emergency episode The Athletic NBA Daily, where they discussed the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier as part of a federal investigation into illegal gambling.
"I think the more interesting thing is: 'How does the NBA deal with this?'" Vorkunov noted. "This eats at the very core of professional basketball and professional sports. It happened to the NBA, it can happen in other sports, too. We've seen it happen in baseball. There's two pitchers who got suspended with the Cleveland Guardians this summer.
"If you don't think that the sports you're watching are legit and are authentic, then you come closer to professional wrestling and sports entertainment than you do actual sports."
Listen to the episode in its entirety right here.
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Takeaways from the NBA gambling investigation
Another player, in response to The Athletic's anonymous player poll, noted the increased tension when it came to gambling and fan interactions throughout the NBA.
“Terrible. Hate them. Every game, no matter if it’s a good game or bad game, you’ve got motherf—— sending death threats, saying racist s—. Every game. I guarantee you, if I check right now, I’ll probably have something from this game. Every game. Everywhere. DMs, Twitter. People be tripping, bro. I hope it doesn’t happen, but it’s going to come to a point where players are going to be targeted because people have lost so much money on them. That’s what I think. But hopefully I’m wrong.”
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NBA players get candid on league’s gambling partnerships and their impact
The Portland Trail Blazers have issued a statement regarding the arrest of head coach Chauncey Billups, who has been placed on leave.
"We are aware of the allegations involving head coach Chauncey Billups, and the Trail Blazers are fully cooperating with the investigation. Billups has been placed on immediate leave, and Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching duties in the interim. Any further questions should be directed to the NBA."
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In April 2024, The Athletic's David Aldridge spoke to players throughout the league about how they had noticed an increased hostility with fan interactions, especially when it came to wagering on NBA games.
"NBA players have always gotten an earful from fans, whether at home or on the road. It comes with the job. But this season, it’s getting darker," Aldridge wrote.
The Athletic's James Boyd asked Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton about it in March 2024.
“To half the world, I’m just helping them make money on DraftKings or whatever,” Haliburton said. “I’m a prop. You know what I mean? That’s what my social media mostly consists of.”
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New scene at NBA games: Fans screaming at players about their losing bets
Here's what Warriors center Al Horford had to say about Thursday's arrests:
"It's something that, I'm sure that there's more information that will need to come out. Just going to have to wait and see, you're given a chance and just have to wait it out. But definitely just have to wait for an outcome there. Don't want to jump to conclusions right away."
Horford added that he has noticed a difference in how fans interact with the game as betting and advertisements for betting have grown with the league.
"It looks aggressive at times," he said. "And I understand that we are professional athletes and this is the world we're in and everything. But I think that the league itself has to step in and probably do more to protect the players and to be better. All this comes with it. It's the fan engagement, but also, there's that other part.
"It's a very interesting time because it's the first time that, as a league and as a society, we're all living and going through this. So there's a lot of things that I'm sure will be worked out and that will be better, but that kind of comes with the territory, and it's something that you just have to deal with."
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In the follow-up to our April anonymous NBA players poll, where 46 percent of 150 respondents noted the league's gambling partnerships were bad, players noted how easy access to gambling has put more scrutiny on their performances and, at times, has also turned threatening.
“It blurs the line between intentions and purity of the game," one player said. "And I just think it’s, in my opinion, (it’s) a little predatory the way they push it. You want to encourage gambling responsibly, and (tell gamblers), ‘Oh my God! Look at all this money you can make!’ When in reality, the only reason why these things exist is because they make tons of money. Why do you think they can spend that much money on advertising? They’re taking your money and throwing it back in your face.
"And so, I think on that question alone, I think it’s dangerous to have such a close partnership. I get that it increases your own money, but it’s a little unsettling to me. … I get 10 messages, DMs (direct messages) a game, (saying), ‘F— you, I’m gonna f— your family up.’”
Today, the National Basketball Players Association, the union for NBA players, provided a statement today:
“The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention. We will ensure our members are protected and afforded their due process rights through this process.“
The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov covered today's news conference as the fallout from the multiyear investigation into illegal betting activities including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups will hang over this NBA season.
He read through the government’s indictments Thursday morning. Here are his takeaways:
1) NBA players and coaches were a crucial part of both alleged rings. According to the indictments, they were conduits of information for bettors who put money on prop bets and other wagers related to NBA games.
2) I’d expect there will be further emphasis from the NBA on the accurate reporting of injuries and player participation. The alleged betting scheme feasted on and weaponized what law enforcement officials called non-public information about who wasn’t playing in future games.
3) There is a lot that we don’t know. While 34 people have been arrested as part of this investigation, there are several unnamed co-conspirators in the indictments. Will there be more charges from the federal government and more well-known people implicated in the future?
In response to the federal indictments of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, the NBA has issued its first public statement.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
"It's a stunning development. The indictment seems very wide-ranging. Of course every single one of the individuals charged are entitled to the presumption of innocence. But it was a development that shocked the conscience of a lot of folks, particularly those who follow the NBA closely," New York representative and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN.
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In The Athletic's annual anonymous survey of NBA players published in April, players were concerned with the league's gambling partnerships.
In response to the question "Are the NBA’s gambling partnerships good or bad for the league, and why?" 46 percent of the 150 respondents said those partnerships were bad, 34 percent responded good, 12 percent were somewhere in the middle and eight percent were undecided.
In 2021, the NBA partnered with FanDuel and DraftKings as its betting partners and several teams have done deals with casinos as well. (The Athletic has a partnership with BetMGM.) Fans can place bets at games or on their phones, and the athlete experience during games and online has often become toxic along the way.
The controversy has extended beyond the court, too. In a story written by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins based on the poll results, players expressed those concerns.
"The gambling partnerships are horrible for the league because you guys are selling your soul for the worst types of people in your fan base," one player said, "and they don’t see us as human beings anymore, which again, they never did.
"But you’re just going to start seeing more and more of — I hope not — you’re going to see more and more people throwing games because of under-the-table deals.”
The NBA runs mandatory education sessions about gambling for players, coaches, team personnel and referees. Betting on the NBA is prohibited for players, as spelled out in a player conduct memo distributed to teams and players. They cannot bet on games, competitions (like All-Star Skills competition) or events (like draft picks, contract signings, trades, awards, and coach hires) involving the NBA, WNBA, G League, NBA2K League and BAL; they also cannot participate in NBA fantasy sports that have cash prizes or offer winnings of value. They can bet on other sports.
“You may not participate in anyone else’s prohibiting betting, ask anyone to engage in prohibited betting on your behalf, or encourage anyone else to engage in prohibited betting,” the player conduct memo says. “You must avoid any involvement with prohibited betting.”
That closely tracks with Major League Baseball’s rules on gambling, which bars wagering on baseball and leaves room for legal betting elsewhere. The NFL suspended Calvin Ridley in 2021 for one year for betting on NFL games.
Read more on how the NBA monitors suspicious activity
Chauncey Billups signed a contract extension in Portland at the end of last season. However, that doesn't mean he'll get paid if the Blazers fire him. While coach and executive contracts typically are guaranteed even if the person is later fired for performance, they also contain "moral turpitude" clauses that don't require the team to pay out if the coach is fired "for cause" — basically, for breaking the law or otherwise causing reputational embarrassment to the franchise.
It has been almost seven years since the Supreme Court opened the door to legalized sports betting across the country, and the NBA now finds itself deep into this gambling world that comes with massive (financial) perks and problems.
The league partnered with FanDuel and DraftKings as its betting partners in 2021, and several teams have done deals with casinos as well. (The Athletic has a partnership with BetMGM.) With people able to place bets at games or on their phones, and the focus shifting from fandom to financial for so many observers, the athlete experience during games and online has often become toxic along the way. The controversy has extended beyond the court, too.
Last year, then-Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned from the league for what the NBA called a “cardinal sin” of betting on games and sharing inside info. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier has been under federal investigation as well, though the league has cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The Lakers are currently not available to comment. Team and league sources said that Damon Jones wasn’t an employee of the Lakers at the time of these allegations. He was allowed to be in restricted spaces such as planes and locker rooms as he worked with LeBron James.
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During questioning it was said that the NBA cooperated with the investigation and it was not related to college sports.
The FBI is known to have been looking into match fixing, with at least five universities being investigated.
Kash Patel, the FBI director, was also asked why he said this announcement would not be popular.
"It's not popular to go after some of the defendants we went after today," he said, adding: "Justice is blind."
The language mirrors the kind that Adam Silver uses for these types of situations and how he has talked about the Jontay Porter case.
On March 23, 2023, Rozier, while playing for the Hornets, let others close to him know that he planned to leave early with injury. Associates bet more than $200,000 on Rozier's unders and winnings were delivered to Rozier's home, the indictment alleges.
