On Friday, Doug Ross posted an article at Substack about the scandal related to the National Basketball Association. The article lists twenty facts about the scandal. Some are truly disturbing.

Here are a few of the items stated in the article:

• The FBI’s “Operation Nothing But Bet” and “Operation Zen Diagram” led to 34 arrests across 11 states in two intertwined schemes: one exploiting insider NBA information for illegal sports betting, and another rigging high-stakes underground poker games backed by four of New York’s “Five Families” (Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese), highlighting the Mafia’s shift from traditional violent crimes to sophisticated tech-driven frauds like online betting scams. High tech included rigged card shufflers with hidden cameras to predict hands. Threats involved gunpoint robberies and extortion to collect gambling debts, with one incident where mobsters allegedly punched victims and sent messages like “Watch what’s good now” to intimidate payments. Link: CNBC.
• Portland Trail Blazers head coach and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups was charged with wire fraud and money laundering for acting as a “face card” to lure high-rollers into rigged poker games in luxurious spots like Las Vegas and the Hamptons, where he was paid by the Mob to participate and sometimes instructed via text to intentionally lose hands to avoid suspicion. Advanced cheating tech featured X-ray poker tables allowing accomplices to see face-down cards remotely. In one crazy debt collection episode, a victim who lost $1.8 million was threatened with “a bunch of goons” showing up at the door. Link: The Athletic.
• Miami Heat guard Terry “Scary Terry” Rozier was arrested for allegedly faking an injury during a March 2023 game against the Memphis Grizzlies, exiting after just nine minutes to manipulate prop bets on his underperformance, netting bettors over $200,000 in illicit gains. The scheme used encrypted messaging apps for sharing insider tips. One co-conspirator drove through the night to Rozier’s house to count and divide profits, while threats of physical harm were used against debtors, including ominous texts implying violence. Link: USA Today.
• Former NBA player Damon Jones, a confidant of LeBron James, was implicated in both schemes, leaking non-public injury info about James before a February 2023 Lakers vs. Bucks game via text: “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!” Tech involved special contact lenses to read marked cards in poker. Jones’ own gambling addiction reportedly cost him millions, leading to mob ties where debtors faced extortion like being punched or robbed at gunpoint to settle debts. Link: NBC News.

That’s just four of the twenty items listed. Please follow the link to the article and read the entire list. This is a sad day in American sports.