But what are Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier accused of?

The FBI reserved a nice gift for NBA for the continuation of the season. The federal agency thus announced a major crackdown: the arrest of 34 people as part of an investigation into the combination of questionable bets on the Big League, with the transfer of confidential information, or the organization of mafia-related poker…

Therefore, there are among the 34 arrested Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups but also Damon Jones.

What exactly are they accused of? According to the FBI, Terry Rozier told a childhood friend, a certain Denner Laster, that he would withdraw from certain games citing an injury. The latter would then sell this information to bookies, for $100,000, so that they bet on the underperformance of the leader.

Poker and confidential information for Chauncey Billups?

Hundreds of thousands of dollars would be bet on a player, who was then playing in Charlotte, and Terry Rozier would pay his friend to go and collect the money in Philly, then return the winnings.

Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, responded in a press release that his client “wasn’t a gambler” etc “that he was eager to win this legal battle.”

For his part, Chauncey Billups was accused of luring celebrities to illegal poker games organized by the Italian mafia (the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese families). The Blazers coach is accused of receiving $50,000 for his role while games were rigged using “sophisticated technology” including shuffling machines that could read in-game cards, poker tables equipped with hidden cameras, contact lenses and special glasses that could read pre-marked cards, and an X-ray table that could read the X-ray table…

Enough to win more than seven million dollars in total, and one player only lost $1.8 million!

From reading the indictment, and even if he is not directly named in this section, as the investigation simply mentions a certain “Accomplice 8,” we assume that Chauncey Billups was charged and provided information regarding certain absences during Blazers games, specifically Damian Lillard.

“To believe that Chauncey Billups committed the acts of which the federal government accuses him is to believe that he would jeopardize his induction into the Hall of Fame, his reputation and his freedom.”replied his lawyer. “He would never expose any of that, let alone over a card game. Additionally, Chauncey Billups has never and would never bet on basketball games. He would never give away confidential information or sacrifice the trust of his team and the League because it would tarnish the game he has dedicated his life to.”

Donald Trump’s message?

As for Damon Jones, he has been accused of using his closeness with LeBron James, in the Cavaliers, then in the Lakers, where he acted as an unofficial assistant to Darwin Hamm, to monetize information about injuries and thus the absences of “The King”. To allow bettors to bet on opponents.

The investigation will now continue, but it could take between six and twelve months for a verdict to be reached. It’s hard to think we could see Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier again, now fireduntil then.

There could be other arrests as the accounts that bet on the poor performances of Johntay Porter and Terry Rozier also bet on college players…

But by appointing Cash Patel to head the FBI, Donald Trump seems to have done the federal agency weapon against his opponentsare these arrests at the start of the NBA season a message? This was specifically stated by Steven A. Smith, explaining that the American president is devoted to the league’s activism.

“I’m the director of the FBI”replied Kash Patel. “I’m the one who decides which arrests should be made and which should not be made. “That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard from anyone in modern history, and I spend most of my time in Washington, DC.”