Sports columnist Ryan O’Halloran: Arrests involving player, coach terrible day for NBA
The arrests of a current NBA coach and player and former player by the FBI for alleged sports gambling and rigged poker games is troublesome for NBA.
- Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier, were arrested in connection with sports betting and rigged games.
- The NCAA now allows college athletes to bet on professional sports.
- Former Jaguars Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith have advanced in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process.
Can we be shocked and not surprised by something? That’s where I landed Thursday morning after the FBI arrested Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and former player/assistant coach Damon Jones for alleging engaging in illegal sports gambling (Rozier/Jones) and rigged poker games (Billups/Jones).
Shocked at the stupidty of Billups, Rozier and Jones.
But not surprised we continue to see stories intersecting sports and gambling.
We could all see this coming since the day in May 2018 when the freeze on state-sponsored sports gambling was lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The floodgates opened and sports teams sprinted to make deals with companies like FanDuel, MGM Bet, Draft Kings and even something called Bet Fred for free money. Thirty-eight states, including Florida, have legalized sports gambling.
Seven-plus years later, the ease in which we can use our phones to make bets and individuals can be influenced by organized crime and bookmakers reached another low point with events one day apart.
Wednesday: The NCAA finalized a rule allowing college athletes and staff members to vote on professional sports.
Thursday: In two sweeping indictments, Billups, Rozier and Jones were among 34 people arrested.
Let’s start with the NCAA decision.
Moronic. Ill-advised. Pathetic.
A scenario: Player A at a major conference digs himself or herself a financial hole betting on pro sports, a hole they are unable to climb out of with their money.
Desperate, they start giving inside information about their team or, like Rozier, allegedly fake an injury, to allow for winnable prop bets. The fallout would be a disaster for player and school.
If the integrity of a game is lost, everything is sacrificed.
The NCAA has advocated for college player prop bets to be banned, but multiple states have no such restrictions. Prop bets are easy money for the states. In Florida, Hard Rock Bet does not offer college prop bets.
The slippery slope has been created. College programs should be proactive and tell their athletes, “We know you can bet on pro sports, but you won’t if you want to attend our school.”
Now about the debacle involving one former and two current NBA employees.
Pure greed.
The alleged betting scheme capitalized on non-public information about who wasn’t playing in future games. This is the case involving Rozier and Jones. Rozier is alleged to have faked an injury and told gamblers ahead of time, allowing them to bet the “under” on his prop bets. Jones is alleged to have fed injury information about player participation.
Billups was arrested in a rigged poker-game scheme, but the sports gambling ring said an unnamed co-conspirator tipped off a defendant that the Trail Blazers would be resting top players on March 24, 2023 and that person played in the NBA from 1997-2014 and has been a coach since 2021. That fits Billups’ resume. Jones hit the daily double by seeing his name in this indictment, too.
The rigged poker games were run in cooperation by several mafia crime families in New York City. A sitting NBA coach involved with the mob. Amazing … yet not so much.
Get ready for more of these cases.
1. Liam Coen’s weekend plans: Jaguars coach Liam Coen is taking a stay-cation during the bye weekend.
“Since we moved into our house in July, I haven’t spent a ton of time there enjoying it,” he said. “We usually go away, we’re going to hang out at home.”
Coen told the coaching staff to stay away from the facility after Tuesday night.
“(The coaches) will connect via Zoom and get some game-plan thoughts and we’ll do a bonus (Las) Vegas day on Monday (with practice),” he said. “With how long the season is, if you don’t take time to recalibrate as a coach and staff member, you don’t feel like there is an actual bye.”
2. Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists: Former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor and receiver Jimmy Smith are among the 52 modern-era players (out of 128) who advanced in the voting process. The next cut is 25 semifinalists (and ties) in about five weeks and 15 finalists in advance of the Super Bowl.
Taylor is the only returning running back (out of eight) to make the cut. Smith is in a group that includes returning candidates Torry Holt (the ex-Jaguars great), Steve Smith Sr., Reggie Wayne and first-time eligible Larry Fitzgerald.
Smith’s case is compelling eventually. During his prime of 1996-2005, his 840 catches and 11,999 yards trailed only Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison and his 64 touchdowns trailed only Harrison and Hall of Famers Terrell Owens and Randy Moss.
About FSU football
1. Quite the statement: The Seminoles are 3-4 after a 3-0 start. Since the ACC title game in December 2023, coach Mike Norvell is 5-14 and three of those wins were over Charleston Southern, East Texas A&M and Kent State. FSU has lost nine consecutive ACC games, including last week’s clunker at Stanford.
Director of athletics Michael Alford released a statement that did nothing to eliminate the speculation of Norvell and his $59.2 million buyout. The 118-word statement “committed” to helping Norvell didn’t include his name until the 108th word. It took me that long to figure out if Norvell was fired or not.
2. Dillingham/Silverfield possibilities: If FSU fires Norvell, would fans approve of hiring Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham or Memphis coach/Jacksonville native Ryan Silverfield even though they both worked for Norvell? Dillingham would be a terrific choice if he was interested and he was fine replacing his boss. FSU shouldn’t go the Group of Five route again and hire Silverfield — I think he would be a fit at Arkansas if the Hogs don’t want a Bobby Petrino 2.0.
Quick Hitters
Love the San Francisco Giants thinking way outside the box and seeing chief executive/former Florida State player Buster Posey hire Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as manager, the first that has happened in MLB history. Coaching is coaching and leading is leading. Vitello was making $3.3 million in Knoxville so he likely took a pay cut and if it doesn’t work out with the Giants, he’ll be highly pursued by college programs. … The Jacksonville Icemen opened ECHL play last weekend with 2-1 and 3-0 wins at Greensboro. The Icemen don’t play at home until Nov. 7 against Atlanta.
Saturday selections
Ole Miss at Oklahoma: UF fans who are pro-Lane Kiffin should be rooting for Ole Miss losses so he can be hired after the regular season and not after the playoffs. Ole Miss 37-28.
Missouri at Vanderbilt: If Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia could play college football until he was 45, he would. Vanderbilt 27-24.
Texas A&M at LSU: Brian Kelly secures his employment in Baton Rouge for 2026 with a win over the Aggies. LSU 17-14.
Houston at Arizona State: A few weeks back, I picked Houston to make the playoff. Oops. Arizona State 30-21.
Record: 1-3 last week (18-16 season).
Sunday selections
Top game — Dallas at Denver: Javonte Williams Revenge Game! Now a Cowboy, he goes nuts on his old team. Dallas 30-28.
Lock – Tennessee at Indianapolis: Arizona handing the Titans a win may be the Titans’ only win. Indianapolis 41-17.
Upset — Tampa Bay at New Orleans: The Buccaneers are banged up and playing a division road game on a short week. Bad scheduling. New Orleans 23-22.
Bonus — Green Bay at Pittsburgh: Aaron Rodgers joins Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks to defeat all 32 teams. Pittsburgh 31-24.
Record: 3-1 last week (14-12 season).
Contact Ryan O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
