The basketball world was knocked off its axis on Thursday by the shocking FBI arrests of Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones. This isn’t the first time professional sports have seen their participants swept up in legal action. But it feels different when gambling is involved, especially when it’s on the games themselves.
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FBI Director Kash Patel revealed that Billups had been arrested for allegedly taking part in a rigged, Mafia-connected poker game that used several high-tech cheating devices like X-ray poker tables and enhanced contact lenses to read marked cards. Rozier had allegedly benefited by betting or having co-conspirators bet his prop bet unders, then taking himself out of games so that they would hit.
Inside the NBA made its long-awaited debut on ESPN this week, and Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t have picked a better time to talk. The gambling scandal, understandably, took up a lot of airtime with Smith and Barkley getting into a spirited debate about what the root cause of these alleged crimes could be.
“We have to realize that gambling is an addiction,” Smith said. “The addiction to it is what makes you make illogical decisions.”
Smith also pointed out that anyone can become addicted, regardless of how much money they make. That’s why someone making over $20 million can risk it all for a fraction of that. Chuck, however, took issue with Kenny’s assessment.
“The reason I’m mad at Kenny is, man, this ain’t got nothing to do with damn gambling addiction, this ain’t got nothing to do with addiction,” said Barkley. “These dudes are stupid. Why are they stupid? Under no circumstances can you fix basketball games. Under no circumstances.”
Barkley was bewildered at why a player would put himself at risk to win such a relatively small sum. That’s when Kenny pounced, saying, “Well, if he did that, you’re proving my point. That means that it’s an illogical thought process if you’re making $26 million to try to win $50,000. It’s illogical.”
Kenny is right in saying that there’s something beyond simply making some extra money at play here. Something caused Rozier to allegedly take part in these schemes. But to understand that, you have to understand the rush that gambling gives you.
Kenny brought up drug addiction to make a comparison. People use drugs for the rush of it, not because it makes logical sense. They get addicted to that high. What Rozier allegedly did isn’t even gambling in that sense, but the rush is still there because all players know that they can’t engage in any activity like that.
Shaq pointed out earlier that the NBA regularly holds forums to ensure that players and coaches know that under no circumstances can they engage in betting on the games. That’s why Barkley is correct, too.
What these guys allegedly did is the height of stupidity, because they knew they couldn’t do it. And they allegedly did anyway.
Even if they are addicted, they still have to choose to do these things. That’s where the stupidity comes into play. What has Barkley so upset is the way this besmirches the integrity of the game.
Chuck is infamous for gambling and losing stupefying amounts of money. So he knows of what he speaks. But losing money at the blackjack table or the golf course is one thing, and ruining the integrity of the sport, as Rozier is alleged to have done, is another.
As for Billups, the charges against him don’t touch on the integrity of basketball, but his own personal integrity. He’s accused of cheating and defrauding people out of their money.
It seems there was nothing gambling about these poker games, because they were rigged to ensure certain people won and certain people lost. That’s not gambling, that’s stealing.
In the end, Kenny and Chuck both made some solid points. Gambling addiction is a real thing, and it causes people to lose their livelihoods, families, and fortunes. Still, people have to be held accountable for their decisions. Both Billups and Rozier have been placed on leave by the NBA as the matter plays out.
