The NBA world was shocked to learn this morning that Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups were arrested for illegal sports gambling. There were more people indicted who were tied to each camp’s gambling ring, and Kash Patel and the FBI said there was more to come. In reaction to the news, Shaquille O’Neal was genuinely stunned, but more so because Rozier and Billups both should’ve known better.
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Gambling has become more and more of a problem around sports in recent years, most notably in the NBA. Of course, nobody will ever forget Jontay Porter, who was banned from the league for betting on his own games and stat lines. Other players like Malik Beasley and Rozier were brought up as potential cases earlier this year as well. Now, Rozier is taking the fall, while the new name of Billups has seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
When O’Neal reacted to the news, firstly, he didn’t want to be hypocritical. So, he came clean and let everyone know that he, too, enjoys gambling on sports and other things off-court.
“I don’t like to sit up here and be hypocritical about certain things. I homeboy bet, Ernie. You know, bet it, we’ve bet on teams. We’ve played cards, played spades. We’ve played tunk,” O’Neal stated on Inside The NBA.
“That being said, every year they would give us forums on what and what not to do. One of those things was if someone asked if a certain player was playing, you say no.”
Not only are players today handed pamphlets about what they can and can’t do when it comes to sports betting, but they have entire seminars dedicated to it. They also have signs posted throughout the locker room reminding players not to do it. At the end of the day, everyone should know that it’s against the rules and that the punishments can be brutal.
This is ultimately why O’Neal was so disappointed in Rozier and Billups.
“All these guys knew what was at stake, and I’m just ashamed that they put themselves and put their families and put the NBA in this position,” O’Neal stated.
At the same time, though, the Hall of Famer wanted to leave some room for innocence. But even he knows that when the FBI has got something on you, it’s over.
“Innocent until proven guilty. But usually, when the FBI has something, they have you. I know a lot of people in the GBI. I’ve been in many of those investigations. They’ll wait 2, 3, 4, 5 years. But when they come knocking on your door, they have something,” O’neal added.
The FBI definitely waited until the perfect moment to strike for this case. NBA games had just begun, and nobody was expecting betting allegations to be an issue so early. But as it was revealed, the FBI has had its eyes on this for a while now and is still eyeing more potential targets to arrest.
By the end of his monologue, O’Neal gave his final analysis on the situation.
“We all know the letter of the law when it comes to gambling and sports gambling… They dropped the ball.”
They 100% did drop the ball. Looking ahead, Billups’ future as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers has been tossed into the air. The team named Tiago Splitter as their interim, but nobody knows if Billups will be back or not. It’s a terrible way to leave a young team that is still searching for an identity.
Rozier’s case is a bit less enticing, as he was revealed as a potential gambling target back in 2023. But the hammer came down hard on him this morning, and people like O’Neal are still trying to pick up the pieces and understand it all.
