Terry Rozier investigated in a case of illegal betting
The case of the Miami Heat player is being studied by the NBA due to a game he played when he was with the Charlotte Hornets
The NBA confirmed on Thursday that federal prosecutors are investigating the unusual betting patterns surrounding a game played by former Charlotte Hornets shooting guard, Terry Rozier, almost two years ago, as part of the same inquiry that led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the investigation, noting that Rozier, who was with the Hornets at the time and now plays for the Miami Heat, has not been charged with a crime or accused of any wrongdoing. The NBA stated that it previously investigated the matter and found no violation of league rules.
"In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier's performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal and later by other media outlets. "The league conducted an inquiry and found no violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation."
The U.S. Attorney's Office had no immediate comment. The Heat referred to the NBA statement when asked for comment. Rozier's attorney, Jim Trusty, said, "We are aware of the NBA's 2023 investigation that determined there was absolutely no irregularity on Mr. Rozier's part and are confident that the ongoing governmental investigation will reach the same conclusion."
The game in which Rozier was involved took place on March 23, 2023, between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game, and not only did he not return that night, citing a foot issue, but he did not play again for the rest of the season.
With Charlotte having eight games left and out of playoff contention, Rozier's absence from the remaining matches of the season did not seem particularly unusual. In that March 23 game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds, and two assists in that initial period, a productive quarter but well below his usual overall performance in a full game.
Online messages from March 23, 2023, show that some bettors were upset with sportsbooks that night when it became apparent that Rozier would not re-enter the game after the first quarter, with many taking to social media to suggest foul play regarding bets on his stats for that night.
One frustrated bettor posted an image of a three-leg parlay ticket where a $65 bet would have returned $401.95. The bettor had over 6.5 goals in the Tampa Bay-Ottawa NHL game and over 8.5 rebounds for Julius Randle, both of which were successful. However, the bet wasn't cashed out because Rozier fell well short of his total prop bet of 32.5 combined points, assists, and rebounds. The bettor had picked Rozier to surpass those numbers.
Jontay Porter, the Precedent
Some sportsbooks offered bets on Rozier, with his nightly totals typically set around 21.5 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds on March 23 before they were withdrawn hours before the Charlotte-New Orleans game. It was unclear why this had happened, and some bettors openly questioned the unusual shift. Rozier was not listed on the team's injury report for that game.
Porter's ban came following a similar probe into his performance and prop bets, where bettors can wager on whether a player will reach specific statistical thresholds during a game. Last April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league investigation revealed that he had disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and had placed bets on games, even betting on his own team to lose.
The investigation into Porter began when the league was alerted through licensed sports betting operators and an organization overseeing legal betting markets of unusual betting patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. The league found that Porter had provided a bettor with information on his health status before that game. Another individual, known to be an NBA bettor, placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit his set numbers in parlay bets through an online sportsbook. With that bet, he stood to win $1.1 million.
The specifics of the bets triggering the inquiry into the Hornets-Pelicans game are unknown. Rozier, 30 years old, is in the third year of a four-year, $96.3 million contract.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Terry Rozier, investigado en un caso de apuestas ilegales
