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Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were both reportedly arrested by the FBI Thursday (October 23) morning, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
"Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested early Thursday morning as part of an FBI sports betting gambling probe, sources tell ESPN. The Eastern District of New York and FBI director Kash Patel will hold a press conference at 10 am ET to announce arrests from investigation," Charania wrote on his X account before later reporting the news on Billups.
"Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has been arrested by the FBI for alleged illegal gambling, sources tell ESPN," he wrote in a later post.
Podcaster Pablo Torre initially reported Rozier's arrest after he obtained and shared a Department of Justice news release stating that "numerous arrests in illegal sports betting and poker games schemes" were made.
"BREAKING — Source tells @pablofindsout that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested by the FBI this morning. (A lot more to come.)," Torre wrote on his X account.
Torre also reported that free agent guard Malik Beasley, who was previously part of and cleared of a federal gambling investigation in August, will have his fate hinge on the DOJ announcement.
"Sources tell @pablofindsout Malik Beasley’s fate also hinges on DOJ announcement. And that MB was previously investigated and cleared by the NBA for 'making a bet or two on another sport.' Source: 'The NBA is under strict confidentiality but you can’t control the government,'" Torre wrote on his X account.
Sportsbooks in multiple states reportedly flagged suspicious betting interest on Rozier's statistics prior to the March 23, 2023, game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans after a surge of bets were placed on the under on Rozier's points, rebounds and assists, causing the sportsbooks to halt the offerings. The guard, who played for the Hornets at the time, left the game after just 10 minutes with what was reported to be a foot injury.
Rozier, 31, is in the final season of a four-year, $96.3 million deal that he reached with the Hornets in August 2021 prior to being traded to the Heat in January 2024. The guard's attorney, Jim Trusty, had previously told ESPN that his client met with NBA and FBI officials on multiple occasions in 2023 and was determined to have done nothing wrong during the investigation, while the NBA said it didn't find any violation of rules at the time.