FBI Director **Kash Patel** ripped **Stephen A. Smith** for claiming that Thursday’s NBA gambling bust is President **Donald Trump’s** way of punishing the league.
“Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list, because when you’ve got all of these protests that have been going out there and people have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming,” Smith [said](https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/hes-coming-stephen-a-smith-warns-massive-nba-gambling-bust-is-trumps-revenge-and-its-only-the-beginning/). “He’s coming.”
On Thursday, the feds sent shockwaves through the NBA when they [announced](https://www.mediaite.com/media/sports/explosive-nba-investigation-includes-nationwide-rigged-poker-games-backed-by-mafia/) dozens of arrests, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach **Chauncey Billups** and Miami Heat guard **Terry Rozier**. The arrests stem from two big cases. One involves an illegal poker game backed by the mafia, and the other centers on the use of non-public information to wager on NBA prop bets.
Officials said the investigation had been going on for years.
Patel appeared on Thursday’s edition of _The Ingraham Angle_ on Fox News, where the host asked when and how the probe started.
“How long has this investigation been going on? Did an informant tip you off?” **Laura Ingraham** inquired
“Well, I can’t get into the nature of how we got on to this, but it’s been going on some time,” Patel replied. “As you can imagine, ferreting out a system where they literally had scanners at poker tables, where they literally had professional athletes in the NBA walk off the court so their proposition bets could be met, is a coordinated scheme with La Cosa Nostra and the individuals that we arrested today. And it’s been going on for some time.”
Ingraham then directed Patel’s attention to Smith’s comments.
“By the way, this was so wild – Stephen A. Smith, the sports commentator, suggested that this was revenge from the president for all the left-wing activism of the NBA,” she noted. “Your response to that.”
“I’m the FBI director,” Patel responded. “I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct. That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C.”
Watch above via Fox News.