An ESPN Bet promotional banner ran at the bottom of the screen during Get Up on Thursday morning while Mike Greenberg discussed the FBI’s arrests of NBA figures in a gambling scandal. The banner disappeared partway through the segment.
The visual, which drew a lot of attention on social media, shows Greenberg discussing ESPN’s historical relationship with sports gambling while the ESPN Bet ticker promoted the network’s sportsbook. At some point during his commentary, the banner disappeared.
Unreal scene from ESPN Get Up this AM.
They’re talking the FBI’s arrests for NBA Sports Gambling. Mike Greenberg explains how ESPN used to shun sports gambling…while an ESPN BET promo is on the screen.
The graphics team realizes the disconnect and takes the chyron down lol pic.twitter.com/ICCvyhJHPA
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) October 23, 2025
“Sports gambling was something that was always in the shadows,” Greenberg said during the segment. “It was something leagues stayed far away from; it was something networks like ESPN would stay far away from.”
The timing created an uncomfortable juxtaposition. Greenberg was addressing one of the most significant gambling scandals in recent NBA history, while ESPN’s own betting brand sat on-screen. Whether the removal was coincidental or deliberate isn’t clear from the footage, but the banner was there and then it wasn’t.
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were arrested Thursday morning. FBI Director Kash Patel announced 34 total arrests connected to illegal gambling operations spanning 11 states that allegedly involved organized crime families.
Rozier faces charges in a sports betting scheme that dates back to March 2023. Sportsbooks in multiple states flagged suspicious betting activity before a Charlotte Hornets game against New Orleans. According to reports, 30 wagers totaling $13,759 came in on Rozier hitting the under on his stats in just 46 minutes. Rozier played only 10 minutes that night before exiting with what he said was a foot injury.
The indictment alleges that over $200k was delivered to Rozier’s home after the bets cashed.
Terry Rozier allegedly had over $200K delivered to his home after bettors cashed in on his under, per @TheAthletic
“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… pic.twitter.com/xkd1QWr1gF
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 23, 2025
Billups faces separate charges in a case involving rigged underground poker games allegedly backed by the Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese crime families. Prosecutors say the games used sophisticated cheating technology, including X-ray tables and rigged shuffling machines. The NBA placed both Rozier and Billups on immediate leave.
The bottom line ticker on ESPN broadcasts is handled by its own editorial team, though it wouldn’t be surprising if show producers had the ability to remove the ticker for any number of potential reasons during a live broadcast. However, that would require someone recognizing the potential issue in real-time.
Whether intentional or not, removing the ESPN Bet banner meant pulling promotion for one of the network’s most significant business partnerships.
ESPN pays Penn Entertainment $1.5 billion over 10 years under the ESPN Bet licensing agreement, which launched in November 2023. Greenberg is one of the network’s primary faces for the sportsbook, appearing in multiple ESPN Bet commercials and having odds boosts named after him.
The awkward optics on Thursday morning aren’t ESPN’s first complicated moment around the NBA, Rozier, and gambling. In June, ESPN’s Shams Charania appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and said Rozier “has been cleared” in the federal investigation. Other reporters immediately pushed back, clarifying that Rozier remained under investigation. The NBA had conducted its own review and found no league rules violations, but federal authorities never closed their case.
Rozier’s case connects to Jontay Porter, the former Toronto Raptors center who became the face of the NBA’s gambling problems in 2024. Porter was banned for life and pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges after admitting he manipulated his performance in two games to help bettors cash prop bets. Porter is awaiting sentencing in December. A total of 4 men have pleaded guilty in that case.
The escalating gambling scandals forced the NBA and its media partners to confront how deeply sports betting has embedded itself into coverage.
ESPN established internal guidelines when ESPN Bet launched, prohibiting reporters and insiders from betting on sports they cover. The policy states no story should be “reported, delayed, influenced, or withheld with the intention of impacting betting lines.” Those rules address editorial decisions. They don’t cover what happens when the network’s gambling brand appears on screen during breaking news about gambling crimes.