NBA commissioner Adam Silver has claimed he had a ‘pit in my stomach’ after an FBI investigation into a Mafia-led illegal sports betting operation rocked the league.
The NBA was plunged into chaos on Thursday – just two days into the new season – after the Feds launched a series of overnight arrests that saw current star Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups detained.
Breaking his silence over the matter on Friday, Silver said: ‘My initial reaction was that I was deeply disturbed.
‘There’s nothing more important to the league and it’s fans than the integrity of the competition. And so, I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting’.
Silver, 63, was then asked about the league’s decision not suspend Rozier – despite allegedly knowing about the gambling activity and launching their own investigation.
In response, the NBA chief explained: ‘So what happened was, because bets were placed through legalized, legal betting companies, they picked up aberrational behavior around a particular game in March of 2023.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has claimed he had a ‘pit in my stomach’ after an FBI investigation into a Mafia-led illegal sports betting operation rocked the league
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups (left) and Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier (right) were arrested on Thursday as part of an FBI sports gambling probe
‘And so that was brought to our attention by the regulators and the betting companies. We then looked into that situation, and we’re very transparent about it.
‘And while there was that aberrational betting, we frankly couldn’t find anything. Terry at the time cooperated, he gave the league office his phone, he sat down for an interview and we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to move forward.
‘We then worked directly with the law enforcement, as they said at the press conference, that the league has been cooperating. That was obviously over two years ago.
‘So the federal government can threaten to put people in jail and all kinds of things that a league office can’t do.
‘And of course, what they announced was an indictment, so two and a half years later of anything, in fairness to Terry, been put on administrative leave and investigating and they have.’
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.
Heat star Rozier was investigated by the league earlier this year but served no suspension
But the FBI is accusing Rozier of using insider information to place unlawful bets on games from February 2023 to March 2024. As reports allude 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.
More to follow…
