Federal investigators are looking into allegations of unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of Terry Rozier in 2023. Rozier, who is currently playing for the Miami Heat, was playing with the Charlotte Hornets at the time the games under investigation were played. News of the investigation was first reported earlier this week by the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
According to available information, the Rozier investigation is part of an earlier investigation into former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter. Porter was found to have participated in an illegal betting scheme involving player prop bets and was banned from the NBA last year and is now awaiting sentencing on fraud-related charges.
This current investigation is centered around a March 23, 2023 match-up between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier pulled himself out of that game after just nine minutes and 36 seconds of game play after scoring just five points, four rebounds and three assists. These numbers were well below his average game play and immediately attracted attention from aggrieved bettors who smelled something suspicious. It’s pretty clear that Federal investigators saw something similarly suspicious.
According to NBA spokesman Mike Bass, the League already had Rozier on its radar telling the Wall Street Journal, “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. The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty was confident that his client would be cleared of any wrongdoing added, “We are aware of the NBA’s 2023 investigation which determined there was absolutely no wrongdoing by Mr. Rozier and we are confident that the on-going government investigation will arrive at the exact same conclusion.”
Expect to hear plenty more about this investigation as it moves forward.