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Following the lifetime ban of Jontay Porter from the NBA due to a betting scandal, another player, Terry Rozier, has found himself also mired in the same scandal. While Rozier has yet to be charged with doing anything nefarious, he is an important figure in a federal investigation into some “heavy” bets that were placed on him.
Law enforcement has called the illegal activity surrounding Porter one of the most pervasive point-shaving scandals in North American sports history. It has so far allegedly involved six co-conspirators, three of which have pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Two others are facing charges ranging from conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to influence to money laundering. Porter is currently awaiting sentencing, but is expected to get up to four years in federal prison.
Terry Rozier’s involvement, if any, has yet to be revealed. However, ESPN reports that a professional bettor placed 30 wagers in 46 minutes on a 2023 NBA game, all of them involving Rozier, at Harrah’s Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi. All 30 bets were winners after Rozier left the game just 10 minutes into it, citing a foot injury. He did not play for the rest of the season.
What do the official documents say?
According to documents obtained by ESPN, a bettor at Harrah’s placed $13,759 in bets on the unders on Rozier’s statistics in the game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. ESPN also notes that at least six sportsbooks in multiple states, including several in New Orleans, detected suspicious betting on Rozier props that day.
On the day of the game, U.S. Integrity, a company that monitors betting activity for abnormalities, sent out an alert nationwide about “Suspicious Wagering Terry Rozier NBA Player Props.” Harrah’s Gulf Coast (Caesars) would later reportedly email regulators stating that they were refusing to pay off the bets because of suspicions about “rigging” and “inside information.”
What are people saying?
The NBA has stated that it conducted its own investigation into Terry Rozier and “did not find a violation of NBA rules.” Also, according to Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty, he is “not a target of the investigation” and has no connection to any of the people implicated in it.
“It’s unfortunate that he’s a big name in sports and is having to endure all this,” said Trusty. “My hope and expectation is that at some point that they’ll be done with their investigation and will be professional enough to let us know that it’s 100% over and that they reached the same conclusion that was reached in 2023.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York told ESPN that they could not confirm or deny Rozier’s status. The Mississippi Gaming Commission declined to comment on the matter and a spokesperson for Caesars did not respond when asked to comment.