NBA has had the shadows of gambling and betting looming on it for quite some time now. However, the league has always been strict regarding betting and the most recent example is Jontay Porter. On the latest episode of the Nightcap podcast, ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe and retired NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson discussed Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter‘s lifetime ban from the NBA for betting on his team to lose.
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While some have argued that a permanent expulsion from the league was too harsh, Sharpe had no sympathy for the forward.
“People gonna look at you like you gotta be the biggest damn fool. Because you made $2.4 million [from playing in the NBA] and you lost your entire career for $22,000. How big a fool must you be? Don’t bet on football if you are a football player! Don’t bet on basketball if you’re an NBA player. How hard is that to comprehend?”
Sharpe added that he said the same thing when NFL wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for a season for betting that losing $11 million while serving his ban wasn’t worth winning $1,500 gambling. The analyst claimed it was preposterous to expect anyone to empathize with Porter for throwing his career away. He explained that most people don’t earn $2.4 million in a lifetime and the forward had managed to earn that in a few years of playing basketball but decided to risk it all to earn a fraction of that via gambling.
While Sharpe’s assessment may sound unsympathetic, he makes valid points. Gambling is a taboo for all professional athletes, especially wagering money on their teams and the leagues they play in. Porter knew the risks, paid the price for getting caught, and could not blame anyone for the punishment handed to him.
Why was Jontay Porter banned for life?
On Wednesday, the NBA announced that they were handing Toronto Raptors’ reserve forward Jontay Porter a lifetime ban after an investigation revealed that he had told a known sports bettor that he’d not be featuring heavily in his team’s game against the Sacramento Kings last month. Another bettor used the information to place a same-game parlay worth $80,000 that helped them win $1.1 million. However, the betting company noticed the irregular betting pattern and informed the NBA, which conducted an investigation.
Per the NBA’s investigation, Porter placed 13 bets worth $54,094 on games and won $76,059, netting a profit of $21,965. The investigation also revealed that in one of his several bets, he wagered money on the Raptors losing. Porter, who was on a two-way deal with Toronto, had earned $2.4 million in salary since entering the league in 2020.
Porter is the 29th person to receive a lifetime ban from the NBA. Nine have successfully managed to get reinstated, but 20 remain disbarred from the league for life.
