Leave it to Chuck to ask the hard-hitting questions.
After the earth-shattering news broke that the FBI had arrested Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in connection with a massive multi-agency operation into a Mafia-linked gambling ring, the NBA and fans alike were left reeling.
If anyone could cut through all the red tape and get answers, regardless of feelings or protocol, it’s Charles Barkley.
During Inside the NBA (now on ESPN), the Hall of Famer directly asked NBA insider Shams Charania whether the league had dropped the ball on the investigation that eventually drew the FBI and Director Kash Patel into the matter.
“Shams, clearly the NBA dropped the ball,” Barkley said. “Now, you can make all the excuses saying they didn’t have all the information that the FBI had, but Adam Silver can pick up the phone and call the FBI and say, ‘Do y’all really have something?’
“Because they’ve been, you know, two years is a long time to investigate somebody, and he was cleared. So, the NBA dropped the ball, bottom line, yes or no?”
Charania froze for a split second, thinking carefully about how to answer the question. The insider, of course, didn’t want to embarrass the league or make NBA Commissioner Adam Silver look bad, so he slyly deflected his response.
“Well, Chuck, I’m told the NBA got access to Terry Rozier’s phone,” Charania answered. “He had to forfeit his phone. That’s the same thing that Malik Beasley, from my understanding, has had to do with the NBA and with federal investigators.
“So, Malik Beasley, a player for the Pistons last year, he’s a free agent now. He’s undergoing an ongoing investigation with both the NBA and the federal systems, and he’s had to forfeit his phone. But he was not part of this round of arrests.
“Terry Rozier also did the same thing. He gave up his phone in 2023. The NBA didn’t find enough evidence there. But the FBI is under no jurisdiction to have to share their information with the NBA.
“Clearly, the way this was done by Kash Patel and federal investigators, that started in the Eastern District of New York, this was done in a silo. This was done, closed mouth, between all those sides. And I don’t know how much they were able to share or even shared with the NBA.”
That was a long-winded, and polite, answer by Charania to say that, yes, it looks like the NBA dropped the ball on this entire investigation.
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Patel spoke at a press conference shedding light on the arrests made in the NBACredit: Getty
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Barkley directly asked Charania if the NBA failed to take proper actionCredit: X/@AWFULANNOUNCING
The NBA released a statement following the arrest of Billups and Rozier.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the NBA said. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
“This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” FBI director Patel said at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn.
There are more skeletons in the closet, and they’re slowly starting to come out now that the FBI is heavily involved. It raises serious concerns for Silver and the NBA regarding the integrity of the game.
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