Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups arrests are latest sports gambling scandal

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA guard and coach Damon Jones were among those arrested by the FBI as part of an investigation into illegal gambling and sports betting Thursday.

The investigation was linked to members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families.

These arrests, which shook the NBA world, are another chapter in which notable players and coaches have been involved in illegal sports betting over the past century.

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A look back at some of the biggest scandals in professional sports betting.

• In 1920, eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted by a Chicago grand jury for fixing the 1919 World Series. This is known as the “Black Sox Scandal.” The jury returned a not guilty verdict against the players, but White Sox owner Charles Comiskey suspended the players, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. A year after the suspension, they were permanently banned by new baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
• In 1946, Hockey Hall of Famer Babe Pratt was suspended for gambling. He was reinstated weeks later after the NHL Board of Governors issued a warning that any further instances of gambling would result in a lifetime suspension of the player.
• In 1948, two years after the NHL Board of Governors’ warning, Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger received lifetime bans from betting on games.
• In 1951, four members of the Kentucky Wildcats coached by Adolph Rupp were accused of accepting bribes from players for an NIT game against Loyola during the 1948–49 season. There were 35 active and former players accused of fixing at least 86 games between 1947 and 1951. An NCAA investigation found several violations, leading to the cancellation of Kentucky’s 1952–53 season.
• In 1989, Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose was banned for life for playing video games. Rose was found to have placed numerous bets on whether the Reds would win between 1985 and 1987, while he played for and managed the team. He admitted to gambling in 2004 after years of maintaining his innocence. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred posthumously removed Rose from the permanent ineligibility list in May 2025, months after his death, allowing Rose to finally be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose is baseball’s all-time leader with 4,256 hits.

NBA LEGEND CHAUNCEY BILLUPS AND HEAT’S TERRY ROZIER ARRESTED IN FBI GAMING INVESTIGATION

Pete Rose greets fans during the unveiling of a bronze statue dedicated to him at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 17, 2017. (IMAGINE)

• In 1996, 13 Boston College football players were suspended for gambling. Two of the players bet against their own team during a 45-17 loss to Syracuse. Head coach Dan Henning informed school officials after hearing allegations that players were placing bets with bookmakers and resigned. No evidence of point shaving has been found.
• In 2007, Rick Tocchet, then an assistant coach, was placed on probation for two years after pleading guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes. He was reinstated to the NHL the following season. Additionally, several players were initially involved in a gambling scheme titled “Operation Slapshot” involving a New Jersey-based ring; Wayne Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones; and Gretzky’s former agent and then-Coyotes general manager Michael Barnett. Tocchet is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
• In 2008, NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to wire fraud and transmitting betting information for taking thousands of dollars from a player in exchange for inside tips on games, including games he worked on. He was sentenced by a federal judge to 15 months in prison.
• In 2023, golfer Phil Mickelson is reported to have bet more than $1 billion over the past three decades in a book written by gambler Billy Walters. In the book, Walters writes that Mickelson wanted to bet $400,000 on the 2012 Ryder Cup, while he was playing for the United States. The six-time major winner denied betting on the Ryder Cup and wrote in a social media post that he had stopped playing. Mickelson said he crossed the line between moderation and addiction.
• In 2023, Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto was suspended 41 games for sports gambling. The NHL said there was no evidence that Pinto was betting on hockey, and Pinto did not reveal any details about his return to the Senators.

NBA PLAYER TERRY ROZIER’S LAWYER SLAMS FBI AFTER HIS ARREST

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) with translator Ippei Mizuhara against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training baseball game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

• In March 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, the performer and close friend of new two-way star Shohei Ohtani, following reports of his ties to an illegal bookmaker. Three months later, Mizuhara pleaded guilty in federal court to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s bank account. He spent the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, as well as $325,000 worth of baseball cards and his own medical bills. Mizuhara took advantage of the language barrier to prevent Ohtani’s financial advisors from understanding their client, and at times, Mizuhara even impersonated the player to the bank to prolong the fraud.
• In April 2024, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter after a league investigation found he leaked confidential information to sports bettors and bet on games. Porter even bet on the Raptors losing. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Porter’s actions “egregious.” The investigation began after unusual playing habits regarding Porter’s March 20 performance against the Sacramento Kings. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health before that game and said another person — known to be an NBA bettor — bet $80,000 that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him at online sports betting. This bet would have brought in $1.1 million.
• In June 2024, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned for life by MLB for betting on baseball. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. The 24-year-old Venezuelan, with 149 games of major league experience, became the first active player in a century banned for life due to gambling.
• Also in 2024, then-Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly was also suspended for a year for betting on baseball while in the minor leagues, and three minor leaguers were also banned for a year for betting on big league games: pitchers Jay Groome of San Diego and Andrew Saalfrank of Arizona, and infielder José Rodríguez of Philadelphia. Each of these four players bet less than $1,000. Saalfrank and Rodríguez have already played in the majors.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, June 17, 2025. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo, file)

• In February 2025, umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting email messages relevant to the league’s investigation. While MLB said the investigation did not uncover evidence that Hoberg personally bet on baseball or manipulated games, MLB senior vice president of field operations Michael Hill recommended on May 24, 2024 that Hoberg be fired. Manfred upheld Hill’s decision. Among the highest-rated umpires judging the strike zone, the earliest Hoberg could seek reinstatement is before spring training 2026. MLB said the friend made 141 bets on baseball between April 2, 2021 and November 1, 2023, totaling nearly $214,000 with an overall win of nearly $35,000. Eight of the bets were on games Hoberg worked on.
• In July 2025, Major League Baseball placed Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz on non-disciplinary paid leave due to a gambling investigation. Nearly a month later, two-time American League Reliever of the Year Emmanuel Clase joined him. MLB extended paid leave for Clase and Ortiz “until further notice while MLB continues its investigation.” There are no updates on the gambling investigation as of this writing.
• In September 2025, the NCAA announced it was investigating potential sports betting rule violations involving 13 former men’s basketball players who competed for Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State. The NCAA’s Integrity Monitoring Program and network of sources flagged text messages and direct messages on social media platforms and revealed unusual betting activity around regular season games. Violations include student-athletes betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for sports betting purposes, manipulating scores or results, and/or refusing to participate in the investigation.