Amidst arguably the biggest scandal the NBA has faced this decade, fans are calling on commissioner Adam Silver to resign after a gambling ring had been linked to prominent league figures.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced two separate cases involving ‘a wide sweeping criminal enterprise’ taking place in 11 states.
Among those tied to this criminal activity are Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.
In one case, 31 defendants were named in a series of allegedly rigged poker games. The other case claims that NBA figures used insider information to manipulate the sports betting market.
Defendants in the cases have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery and illegal gambling. Lawyers who separately represent both Rozier and Billups have denied the allegations.
In the aftermath, fans have been vocal in their anger against the league and have called on Silver to resign.
NBA fans are calling on commissioner Adam Silver to resign after two gambling scandals hit the league on Thursday morning
FBI Director Kash Patel arrested 31 people connected with two separate NBA-related schemes
Former NBA player Enes Kander Freedom posted on X, ‘ADAM SILVER MUST RESIGN IMMEDIATELY. You can’t profit off gambling and then suddenly play the victim when it blows back on you.’
‘Adam Silver has overseen a massive drop in popularity, healthy players routinely sitting out, and now a gambling scandal,’ posted sports talk radio host Michael Borkey. ‘When do owners start calling for change?’
‘If this isn’t the last straw for Silver, I don’t know what is. His only good decision was the Donald Sterling decision and that was a layup. He’s gotta get voted out,’ another poster wrote.
Another commented posted, ‘adam silver should genuinely announce that all the league’s gambling partnerships are getting shut down immediately and also that he is retiring.’
‘Adam Silver should resign if this league wants to cling onto any notion they’re serious,’ another comment read.
One sports fan said, ‘I’m definitely done with Adam Silver. He’s been a push over time and time again and now we’ve got a major gambling issue that can’t even be addressed in its fullness because of his push to allow gambling all over the entire business model of the sport.’
Terry Rozier, a 31-year-old NBA star playing with the Miami Heat, was arrested in Orlando on Thursday morning and is accused of underperforming to manipulate sports betting wagers
While the case has rocked the league, one prominent insider has suggested that the NBA knew about the alleged sports betting scandal involving Rozier manipulating prop bets.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported that the league was notified about thousands of dollars in ‘under’ prop bets for Rozier that went un-punished.
‘The NBA at some point is going to have to explain why Terry Rozier was allowed to keep playing,’ Windhorst said.
‘I just want to point something out: the sportsbooks caught the irregular betting on Terry Rozier the day it happened… when all of a sudden, there were hundreds of thousands of dollars coming in on Terry Rozier unders.
‘The sportsbooks caught it. They told the NBA right away, and guess what? Rozier didn’t play the rest of the season. And he had faked the injury so it wasn’t because of the injury. The NBA pulled him.’
The game in question took place on March 23, 2023 when Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier ended up leaving the game over nine-and-a-half minutes in and did not play for the rest of the campaign.
However, despite allegedly knowing about the gambling activity, Rozier was not suspended and continued to play in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with both the Hornets and the Heat.
In January, reports emerged that Rozier was under investigation. However, he was not found by the league to have violated any rules.
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in relation to the alleged scheme involving the rigging of poker games using advanced technology
But the FBI is accusing Rozier of using insider information to place unlawful bets on games from February 2023 to March 2024. As Windhorst alluded to, Rozier is being accused of faking injuries to leave contests early and underperforming to let bets hit.
Another former player, Damon Jones, has also been arrested and is alleged to have been involved in two contests that Rozier was involved in.
As for Billups, the scheme he was allegedly involved in delves into an illegal poker operation using advanced technology to rig outcomes.
Rozier’s attorney characterized the FBI’s sources as ‘incredible’ and added, ‘Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.’