Last Tuesday, all was right in the world of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
The league’s 80th season launched that night and with it, the association was poised to welcome in billions in new television money.
But that was Tuesday.
By Thursday morning, the league, and by extension, the commissioner was embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of his 11 ½-year tenure.
That’s saying something, considering that Silver took down one of his bosses, former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, in one of his first official acts.
One of the league’s coaches, Chauncey Billups, and one of its players, Terry Rozier, were named as defendants in an expansive federal gambling probe that includes alleged involvement by members of five noted organized crime organizations.
Billups, who coaches the Portland Trail Blazers, is accused of being the willing draw that lures unsuspecting victims into electronically rigged poker games where said marks are lifted of millions of their dollars.
Meanwhile, Rozier, who is a reserve guard with the Miami Heat, is charged with supplying bettors with inside information about his own performance.
Specifically, Rozier is suspected of tipping off some gamblers that he would be leaving a game early with an injury, thus affecting his statistics, a source of wagering.
This reportedly happened two years ago while Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets.
The league conducted its own review of Rozier and found that he had not violated NBA rules. However, that wasn’t enough for the FBI, which, in a high-profile Thursday press conference, announced Rozier’s arrest, along with that of former NBA player Damon Jones.
Those two and others stand accused of tipping off gamblers about the goings-on in the game in exchange for money or a share of profits.
The arrest of Billups, who, as a player, led a Detroit Pistons team to a championship and is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, is clearly embarrassing to the league and may cost him his coaching gig.
But the far more dangerous situation for Silver and the NBA is the mess allegedly created by Rozier, for it speaks to the credibility and veracity of the game itself.
For a sport to be taken seriously, people need to believe that the games are conducted on the up-and-up and that the athletes are in it for nothing more than the salaries they receive and to win.
All American sports must negotiate their integrity against the framework of their unholy relationships with legalized gambling, which has infected every part of our games.
Of particular concern must be the so-called prop bets, where gamblers lay down cash on game aspects other than the outcome.
That’s what tripped up Rozier. Prop bets are the bane of all sports, as they are the part that falls outside of who wins and who loses.
Game integrity is at the heart of every commissioner’s worst nightmare. It just so happens to have haunted Adam Silver first. He’s going to have to wake up soon and deal with it or he’ll have a lot more sleepless nights.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening. Enjoy the games.
