Jaylen Brown wants more NBA protection over betting issues
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said the NBA isn’t doing enough to protect players from issues related to sports betting, addressing the issue a day after a prominent player and coach were arrested for their alleged roles in a nationwide gambling scandal.
“They say, ‘You make X amount of money or “It creates negative discourse around gambling and players when people have money on the line. … This leads to situations that we could avoid if more conversations took place right now.”
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were among dozens of people charged Thursday in two federal investigations. Rozier allegedly informed a friend that he would be withdrawing from a March 2023 game while with the Charlotte Hornets, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets made on Rozier as part of the contest’s props.
Although Billups’ charges relate to his alleged role in rigged poker games, he also fits the description of a co-conspirator who allegedly told a bettor in advance that a number of Trail Blazers starters would miss a March 2023 game.
Lawyers for Billups and Rozier said their clients dispute the allegations against them.
Brown, vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, said he wants to help shed light on what happened. But he also lamented that the NBA isn’t doing enough proactively or reactively to help players.
“I don’t think once, based on my conversations with the union, has the NBA asked, ‘How can we protect players more while taking the environment into account?'” Brown said. “There has been little or no discussion about this. The question is often “How can we increase our business and revenue?” “I don’t think we have enough discussion about the implications or consequences of some of these things. »
Brown and Rozier were teammates with the Celtics from 2016 to 2019. Brown said the allegations against Rozier were “not conducive to his character” but noted that the union has an investigative team looking into the matter.
“Obviously, if these guys are innocent, it doesn’t make them look good publicly and in the media. So we need to make sure that if they are exonerated, their images are cleaned up,” Brown said. “But I think right now, getting all the information and getting to the bottom of it is the most important thing.”
