The NBA says it takes the charges against Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier for their alleged involvement in illegal sports betting and rigged poker games with the “utmost seriousness.”
NBA
The professional basketball league has placed both Billups and Rozier on leave after they were indicted in the US federal investigation which came to light on Thursday.
As reported by the Associated Press, investigators have accused Rozier and other defendants of exploiting private information about players to win bets on NBA games.
Billups, meanwhile, has been charged with participating in a conspiracy to rig mafia-backed poker games.
More than 30 other people have been arrested in connection with the two investigations.
Damon Jones, a former NBA player and assistant coach, is accused of participating in both schemes.
An NBA statement said: “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Billups’ legal representative Chris Heywood said, via the Associated Press: “To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his Hall of Fame legacy, his reputation and his freedom. He would not jeopardise those things for anything, let alone a card game.”
Rozier's lawyer, Jim Trusty, said his client is "not a gambler" and "looks forward to winning this fight."
The allegedly rigged poker games resulted in more than US$7m in losses to individuals who participated.
FBI director Kash Patel labelled the alleged fraud “mind-boggling.”