The NBA charged Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter with “disclosing confidential information to a sports bettor, restricting his participation in one or more games for gambling purposes, and restricting his participation in one or more NBA games. He was permanently suspended for gambling, the league announced in a news release Wednesday.
“Nothing is more important to fans, teams, and everyone involved in the sport than protecting the integrity of NBA competition, which is why Jontay Porter's blatant violation of the rules of the game is the most important,” NBA Commissioner Adam said. He will receive severe punishment.” Silver said in a statement. “Legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or anomalous activity, but this issue is a challenge to our current implementation practices, including the types of bets offered to our games and players. We also raise important questions about the adequacy of the regulatory framework in place. We remain committed to working closely with all relevant stakeholders.'' Across the industry, we remain keen to protect the league and the game. We will continue to work on this. ”
The National Basketball Players Association also released a statement saying, “All players, including Jontay, should be afforded appropriate due process and the opportunity to answer any charges brought against them. The NBPA We will continue to provide training materials to all players to ensure they understand how they will be charged.” To properly navigate the complex sports betting environment. ”
An NBA investigation found the following:
∎ “Porter disclosed confidential information about his health to an individual who he knew was an NBA bettor. Another individual who was associated with Porter and who he knew was an NBA bettor subsequently disclosed I placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet at an online sportsbook to win,” $1.1 million betting that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game. ”
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∎ “Porter limited his participation in games in order to influence the outcome of one or more bets on the Raptors' performance in at least one game. Due to the player's unusual betting behavior and actions, $80,000 in bets were frozen and not paid.
∎ “Additionally, from January to March 2024, while traveling with the Raptors or Raptors 905, the Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, Porter attended at least one NBA game using a colleague’s online betting account. I placed 13 bets. These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, and the total payout from these bets was $76,059, resulting in a net winnings of $21,965. None of the bets included games in which Porter played. Three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets, including one on the Raptors, and the three bets were on the Raptors to lose. I lost everything.”
Porter, the younger brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., was suspended from playing games starting March 22 through the remainder of the regular season after an ESPN article detailed gambling misconduct involving games in which Porter played. I couldn't go out.
Porter played in 26 games with the Raptors this season, averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Porter signed a two-way contract with Toronto on December 9th.
NBA players cannot bet on NBA games. According to the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), penalties for a conviction are at the discretion of the NBA commissioner, including fines, suspensions, ejections, etc. and/or prohibit any further association with the Association or its members that may include permanent disqualification. ”
Silver took the most extreme measures.
The NBA said the suspicious gambling was brought to its attention “by licensed sports betting operators and organizations that monitor legal gambling markets.” The investigation is still ongoing and the league said it will share information with federal prosecutors.
The last time the league issued a lifetime ban for a gambling-related offense was in 1996, when Roger Brown was suspended for associating with prominent gambler Jack Molinas. Some players were expelled from the league for their actions.
