Miami-Heat-guard-Terry-Rozier
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The NBA Players Association knows that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier risked the integrity of the entire league, and thus a potential future for its members, by allegedly feeding inside info on games to illegal gambling rings.
But it doesn’t seem to care.
Despite being well aware of Rozier’s alleged wrongdoing, the NBAPA said Wednesday that it fully intends to defend Rozier, including his right to continue to receive pay while deemed indefinitely ineligible by the league.
NBAPA Releases Statement Addressing Defense Of Terry Rozier
On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson from the NBAPA reached out to Colin Salao of Front Office Sports and stated that the union will fight for Rozier’s right to continue to receive pay from the Miami Heat even while ineligible.
“While we are in agreement with the league that upholding the integrity of the game is of the utmost importance, their decision to place Terry on leave without pay is counter to the presumption of innocence and inconsistent with the terms of our Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the spokesperson stated. “We plan to challenge their decision via the proper channels.”
According to a separate report, Rozier reportedly owed the IRS $8.2 million in unpaid taxes in 2023.
It’s not entirely unsurprising to see the NBAPA defend Rozier. After all, that is, at its core, what the union is there to do, defend its players.
What is surprising is that the defense of Rozier potentiallu endangers the financial futures of its additional current and future members. Should the league’s integrity come into question, it could risk future popularity at a time where viewership, TV deals, and pay are each growing astronomically.
Any risk to that income is a risk to the trickle-down income seen by players.
And so the NBAPA finds itself in a weird spot. Risk failing to defend Rozier and losing the trust of current players. Or risk defending Rozier and damaging the reputation of the league on the whole. Clearly, they’ve gone for the latter. Whether that works out remains to be seen.