“NBA games must be trustworthy and free from the influence of organized crime or gambling-related activity,” the senators wrote in a letter demanding transparency and accountability
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) in a letter to the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Adam Silver, regarding allegations of gambling-related corruption in the league and the threat it poses to the game’s integrity.
Earlier this month, federal prosecutors charged current and former NBA players and coaches for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. According to the indictment, those involved in the scheme used confidential information to inform gambling decisions on games in order to make a profit. In some instances, players allegedly rigged games to make sure their preferred outcomes occurred. Another federal indictment suggests ties between certain NBA players and coaches and organized crime. News reports also indicate the NBA had done its own investigation of gambling allegations against Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, finding no violation of its rules and clearing him to play.
“This is a matter of Congressional concern,” the senators wrote. “The integrity of NBA games must be trustworthy and free from the influence of organized crime or gambling-related activity. Sports betting scandals like this one may lead the American public to assume that all sports are corrupt. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over professional sports, and as dedicated basketball fans, we want to ensure the NBA is protecting the integrity of the sport.”
In their letter, the senators acknowledged the NBA has not been accused of fixing games and has taken steps to prevent sports betting among players, owners, and staff. The probe seeks to ensure that the NBA is acting in good faith and the American public can enjoy the sport without questioning the results or the fairness of the game.
Read the full letter HERE or below.
Dear Mr. Silver:
Americans love basketball because it is fast-paced and unpredictable. A star player can catch fire, a single foul can shift the energy on the court, and a last-minute buzzer beater can decide it all. That volatility is the sport’s magic, and precisely why allegations that current and former National Basketball Association (NBA) players and coaches compromised the game’s integrity are so troubling. In light of the latest allegations of gambling-related corruption involving an NBA player, we write seeking more information about how the NBA investigated and handled these allegations as well as what steps the Association is taking to maintain the public’s trust.
On October 16, 2025, federal prosecutors indicted Terry Rozier, a current NBA player for the Miami Heat, formerly of the Charlotte Hornets, and Damon Jones, a former NBA player and coach, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. According to public reporting and the federal indictments, NBA players and coaches may have used confidential or nonpublic information to arrange for wagers to be made on games and player prop bets in order to make a profit. In some instances, players allegedly rigged wagers themselves by taking actions to make sure their preferred outcomes occurred.
While prosecutors allege Rozier, Jones, and others engaged in various betting schemes, three examples illustrate the threat posed to the game’s integrity. Before a March 23, 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Rozier allegedly informed friends he was going to remove himself from the game because of an injury. A network of acquaintances then placed prop bets that Rozier would score fewer points during the March 23rd game than the oddsmakers’ line.
Those wagers drew the suspicion of sportsbooks and U.S. Integrity, which sent out a nationwide alert. When Rozier played for less than ten minutes in the game and scored only five points, the conspirators cashed in. Prosecutors allege much of the winnings made their way back to Rozier and his associates as payment for the confidential information.
A game on the next day, March 24, 2023, provides another troubling example. In the same indictment, Co-Conspirator 8, widely reported to be current Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, allegedly told other members of the conspiracy that key players on the Trail Blazers would not be playing that night against the Chicago Bulls and that the Trail Blazers planned to purposefully lose to increase the team’s odds of a favorable draft pick. Based on the information from Billups, other defendants made successful bets on the Bulls to win the March 24th game. Another federal indictment in which Billups is a defendant suggests ties between certain NBA players and coaches and organized crime. Needless to say, these connections are disturbing and suggest that gambling-related corruption threatens to infect professional sports.
As a final example, it is alleged Damon Jones, while serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 NBA season, sold or facilitated the sale of nonpublic information about a prominent NBA players’ injury status to bettors. Jones allegedly texted a co-conspirator ahead of a February 9, 2023 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks that a ‘prominent player’ (widely understood to be LeBron James) would not play, urging a bet on Milwaukee—while that player was not yet listed on the injury report.
No one has alleged that the NBA had any role in fixing these games. Indeed, the NBA has taken steps to address fraudulent gambling among its players. NBA rules prohibit players, owners, and staff from betting on NBA games and bar players from taking actions that would ‘cause any game of basketball to result otherwise than on its merits.’ In April 2024, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for life after a scheme (noticeably similar to the one Rozier allegedly organized in March 2023) where Porter tipped off friends that he would be ‘sick’ during a game. Porter’s actions were even more brazen: he bet on NBA games throughout 2024 and made thousands of dollars. Porter also pled guilty to federal charges related to the scheme.
Reporting suggests that, like the incident involving Porter, the NBA opened an investigation of Rozier for gambling activity around the March 23 game mentioned above. However, reporting indicates the Association’s investigation ‘did not find a violation of NBA rules.’ This Committee needs to understand the specifics of the NBA’s investigation and why Rozier was cleared to continue playing basketball.
This is a matter of Congressional concern. The integrity of NBA games must be trustworthy and free from the influence of organized crime or gambling-related activity. Sports betting scandals like this one may lead the American public to assume that all sports are corrupt. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over professional sports, and as dedicated basketball fans, we want to ensure the NBA is protecting the integrity of the sport.
The Standing Rules of the Senate provide the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation the authority and duty to ‘review and study, on a continuing basis’ issues relating to sports and commerce. We request that you provide written responses to the questions below, as well as requested documents, no later than November 10, 2025, and in accordance with the attached instructions. All document requests refer to documents created between January 1, 2020, and the present.
- Provide documents sufficient to show the NBA’s policies and procedures relating to sports betting, gambling, or game rigging by NBA or an affiliated team’s players, coaches, employees, or owners.
- List any investigation into the NBA’s or an affiliated team’s players, coaches, employees, or owners for violating the NBA’s rules relating to sports betting, gambling, or game rigging or related criminal conduct between January 1, 2020, and the present.
- Provide all documents related to any investigation listed in response to Request 2, including: a. Procedures and policies used to conduct any relevant investigation; b. Documents received by third parties or otherwise collected by the NBA during any relevant investigation; and; c. Findings, conclusions, and actions taken as a result of any relevant investigation.
- Provide communications between the NBA and any sports betting platform or related sports gambling monitoring organization such as U.S. Integrity regarding suspicious or flagged sports wagers: a. Placed by the NBA’s or an affiliated team’s players, coaches, employees, or owners; or b. Placed on NBA games or propositions related to NBA games, players, or teams.
- Explain the extent to which the NBA has addressed and plans to further address the alleged instances of sports betting, gambling, and game rigging that have occurred including: a. How, if at all, the NBA plans to revise its rules, policies, procedures, or enforcement structure; and b. How the NBA plans to ensure NBA players, employees, coaches, and owners do not have ties to organized crime.
- Provide the final memorandum, report, findings, or any other documents generated as a result of the NBA’s internal investigation or review concerning Terry Rozier’s alleged gambling, wagering, betting, or performance irregularities.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
