LOADINGERROR LOADINGFBI Director Kash Patel blasted Stephen A. Smith for hinting the NBA’s explosive gambling arrests happened because President Donald Trump is out to get the league ― and will target more sports. (Watch the videos below.)Patel appeared on Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s show Thursday after announcing the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and ex-NBA player Damon Jones in a wide probe of illegal sports betting and Mafia-rigged poker games.Advertisement
“Stephen A. Smith, the sports commentator, suggested that this was revenge from the president for all the kind of left-wing activism of the NBA,” she said to Patel. “Your response to that.”“I’m the FBI director,” Patel replied. “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.”Ingraham: Stephen A. Smith suggested this was revenge for the left wing activism of the NBA. Patel: That may be the single dumbest thing that I have ever heard out of anyone in modern history and I lived most of my time in Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/81q62gOwwU— Acyn (@Acyn) October 23, 2025Advertisement
Smith offered his take when news broke of the bust. He repeatedly said “Trump is coming” and called Patel’s press conference a “statement and it’s a warning that more is coming.”“Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on [Trump’s] list, because when you got all of these protests that have been going out there and people that have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming,” Smith said. “Tto me this is the latest nugget of evidence.”Smith said he wasn’t questioning the legitimacy of the case, however. “We don’t know.”Officials said the investigation has been in the works for years, which would predate the second Trump administration.Advertisement
Smith’s comments were interpreted by some outlets as an assertion that Trump was seeking vengeance against the NBA. "Trump is coming. He's coming...Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what's going on today...this is just the tip of the iceberg" - Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/gngy9qbPIG— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2025RelatedNBAkash patelStephen A. SmithShock NBA Gambling Arrests: Player & Coach Pinched — 4 Top Mafia Families Implicated!NCAA Permanently Revokes Eligibility Of 3 Players For Betting On Their Own GamesGuardians All-Star Placed On Leave As Part Of MLB Sports Betting Investigation