Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones are among 34 people charged in connection with schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by the Mafia, authorities said on Thursday.
Rozier is accused in participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information, officials said. Billups is charged in a separate indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games, authorities said.
Evidence and Data
Assistant coach and former NBA player Tiago Splitter has been named as the team’s interim head coach, according to a statement released Thursday by the Portland Trail Blazers. The team is set to play its first game without head coach Chauncey Billups on Friday night at Portland’s Moda Center against the Golden State Warriors. “We are aware of the allegations involving head coach Chauncey Billups, and the Trail Blazers are fully cooperating with the investigation. Billups has been placed on immediate leave, and Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching duties in the interim. The six defendants in the sports betting indictment include former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, current NBA player Terry Rozier, one of Rozier’s close friends. Jones is also a defendant in the rigged poker game indictment, as is Portland Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups.
Rozier’s attorney told reporters outside the federal courthouse after Thursday’s hearing about the March 23, 2023, game between Charlotte and New Orleans that was the focus of the charges. The NBA star played the first 9 minutes and 36 seconds in the first quarter before exiting and did not play again in that game or the final eight games of the season.
Any further questions should be directed to the NBA,” the brief statement said. Two of the defendants portrayed themselves on Instagram as successful sports bettors and sold sports betting picks through their profiles, according to the indictment.
