Former Louisville Cardinal and current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested by the FBI early Thursday morning on charges related to an extensive federal grand jury investigation into illegal sports gambling.
Rozier, who joined the Heat in 2024, was arrested in Orlando hours after Miami’s season-opening loss to the Magic. Rozier did not play in the game due to a “coaches decision.”
“A long time ago, we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication,” Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said in a statement. “They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel.”
Trusty added, “It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender, they opted for a photo op.”
“They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case,” he added. “They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. 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.”
Former Cleveland Cavalier Damon Jones was arrested by the FBI in Las Vegas on Thursday, as was Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Billups is one of 31 people being charged for allegedly taking part in an illegal high-stakes poker game that involved high-profile sports figures and was orchestrated by organized crime members.