NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made his first public comments on the ongoing gambling scandal that has arrived in the league this week.
“There is nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition,” Silver said during Friday, October 24. before the game NBA on Prime transmission. “So I felt a pit in my stomach. It was very disturbing.”
Silver, 63, told a reporter Cassidy Hubbarth Before the New York Knicks’ game against the Boston Celtics, he said he is “deeply disturbed” by the situation.
Federal officials arrested nearly three dozen people, including the Miami Heat star. Terry Rozier and coach of the Portland Trailblazers Chauncey Billupson gambling-related charges on Thursday, October 23.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat star Terry Rozier have been arrested in connection with a federal gambling investigation. Both Billups, 49, and Rozier, 31, were arrested on Thursday, October 23, authorities announced. Billups was charged with an illegal poker operation linked to the mafia. He was arrested in […]
Rozier allegedly conspired to help his associates win bets based on their gambling performances, while Billups is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in what officials call rigged, mob-backed poker games.
Rozier was also investigated by the league in March 2023, after the NBA was notified of unusual betting activity related to his performance in a game. According to federal officials, in that March 2023 game, Rozier played just nine and a half minutes, while more than $200,000 was bet on that stat line.
At the time, the league “found no violation of NBA rules” and Rozier was allowed to continue playing. With new developments this week, Rozier has been placed on immediate leave, along with Billups.
Adam Silver
Eduardo Leal/AFPOn the Amazon Prime stream, Silver was asked about that 2023 decision to allow Rozier to continue playing, and he said at the time the league concluded there was “insufficient evidence despite the aberrational behavior.”
“Then we looked at that situation and were very transparent about it,” Silver said. “And although there were aberrant bets, frankly we couldn’t find anything.
He continued: “Then we worked directly with the authorities. That was obviously over two years ago… We’ve been working with them ever since.”
Both Rozier and Billups issued statements through their lawyers denying any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, the former NBA star and current basketball analyst Carlos Barkley commented on the situation, saying that the scandal has nothing to do with gambling addiction.
“Under no circumstances can you fix basketball games,” Barkley said on ESPN’s pregame show. “Under no circumstances. I love to bet, the idea is that Rozier makes $26 million. If he bets, gives information to people or withdraws from games, how much will he benefit by withdrawing from the game to get unders? He is winning $26 million.”
The scandal comes less than a week after the start of the NBA season.
“I apologize to our fans because we are all dealing with this situation, but in terms of competition on the court, it has been spectacular,” Silver said. “I should have started with how excited we are to be at Amazon. I wouldn’t have predicted that my first interview at Amazon would be about sports betting.”
According to the Associated Pressthe NBA has at least 14 relationships with sportsbooks, including FanDuel and DraftKings, and some individual teams also secure their own deals with sportsbooks.