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The NBA is reportedly seeking cell phones and other property from multiple teams as part of its investigation into illegal sports gambling.
“The NBA engaged an independent law firm to investigate the allegations in the indictment once it was made public,” an NBA spokesman told The Athletic. “As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organizations were asked to preserve documents and records. Everyone has been fully cooperative.”
Los Angeles Lakers assistant trainer Mike Mancias and executive administrator Randy Mims, who each have close ties to superstar LeBron James, have reportedly already cooperated in handing over their cell phones to the outside law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which has been contracted by the NBA to help carry out the investigation.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the NBA and Lakers for comment.
The NBA is in the midst of handling a bombshell scandal that resulted in the federal indictment of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones for their alleged roles in a criminal gambling scheme, last month.
Congress got involved when the House Committee on Commerce Friday sent a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver requesting information and a briefing to obtain information related to the scandal. The bipartisan letter was signed by six members of Congress on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The committee is seeking five key points of information from Silver:
“1. Details about the fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NBA players, coaches, and officials, including the actions of NBA players and coaches identified in the recent indictment; as well as prior instances, some of which are identified above,” the letter states.
“2. Actions the NBA intends to take to limit the disclosure of nonpublic information for illegal purposes. 3. Whether the NBA’s Code of Conduct for players and coaches effectively prohibits illegal activity, including the disclosure of non-public information for the purposes of illegal betting schemes. 4. An explanation of the gaps, if any, in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur. 5. Whether and how the NBA is reevaluating the terms of its partnerships with sports betting companies.”
The letter also references comments made by Silver during an appearance Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” where the commissioner expressed support for more federal sports betting regulation.
“I think, probably, there should be more regulation, frankly,” Silver said. “I wish there was federal legislation rather than state by state. I think you’ve got to monitor the amount of promotion, the amount of advertising around it.”
The Department of Justice listed seven NBA games that saw high-stakes wagers after non-public information was disclosed to gamblers.
Rozier’s alleged involvement came in a game March 23, 2023, when he told a childhood friend, Deniro Laster, that he would take himself out of a game early, citing an injury, so Laster could place wagers based on the information. Neither Hornets officials nor betting companies were made aware of Rozier’s plan, according to the indictment, and Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report.
HEAT’S TERRY ROZIER ARRESTED AS PART OF FBI SPORTS BETTING PROBE
Laster then allegedly sold that information to other co-conspirators, and numerous people placed wagers totaling roughly $200,000 on Rozier’s “under” prop bets to hit in both parlay and straight wagers. After Rozier played just nine minutes and never returned, the bets won. Rozier and Laster counted cash winnings at Rozier’s home in Charlotte roughly a week later, an indictment says.
The DOJ says the player was eventually ruled out with a lower-body injury. LeBron James did not play that night due to an ankle injury that kept him out for two more games. The game in question was played two days after James scored 38 points to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Another game the DOJ mentioned was a Portland Trail Blazers–Chicago Bulls matchup March 24, 2023, the day after Rozier played nine minutes, and a co-conspirator, “an NBA coach at the time,” allegedly told a longtime friend, who is also a defendant in the rigged poker scheme, that the Blazers would be “tanking” that night for a better draft pick and would sit some of the team’s best players. The resting of the players had not yet been public information.
Rozier and Jones were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Rozier and Billups were placed on immediate leave from their teams, “and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.”
“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
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