NBA player Malik Beasley’s free agency had been derailed by a federal gambling investigation. The investigation has ended, and he’s no longer under scrutiny.
Via Shams Charania of ESPN.com, Beasley’s lawyers said that prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have determined that Beasley isn’t a target.
“Months after this investigation commenced, Malik remains uncharged and [is not the target of this investigation](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46047941/attorneys-malik-beasley-no-longer-target-gambling-probe),” attorney Steve Haney told Charania. “An allegation with no charge, indictment or conviction should never have the catastrophic consequence this has caused Malik. This has literally been the opposite of the presumption of innocence.”
A spike in betting interest on Beasley’s statistics in January 2024 caught the attention of at least one prominent sportsbook. The odds regarding Beasley notching fewer than 2.5 rebounds changed from +120 to -250. Beasley had six rebounds in the game.
Last year, the NBA banned Jontay Porter for life due to the manipulation of his statistics for gambling purposes. There apparently has been no further evidence, that we know of.
“NBA players compete at the highest level with the utmost integrity and are concerned that prop bets have become an increasingly alarming source of player harassment, both online and in person,” a National Basketball Players Association spokesperson told ESPN. “If tighter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support taking a closer look at them.”
Getting rid of prop bets would be the best regulation, for everyone. Except for the sportsbooks, which would lose the ability of gamblers to inevitably lose their money.
And, yes, here’s where I mentioned that you can get a compelling cautionary tale about gambling, the mob, and pro football (and baseball and basketball) [for only 99 cents](https://www.amazon.com/Big-Shield-Mike-Florio-ebook/dp/B0FGH43V6D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AUO4EHHF15KA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Zt2lB8EZIKBB4uFXm7uOyA.GhyPeL_Z9qve1rp2GVSwijnyhbzLUfQRrFKjBV3OHjo&dib_tag=se&keywords=big+shield+florio&qid=1755881471&sprefix=big+shield+florio%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-1).