Arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups are sports’ latest gambling scandal

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA guard and coach Damon Jones were among those arrested by the FBI as part of an investigation into illegal gambling and sports betting on Thursday.

The investigation was linked to members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families.

The arrests, which have rocked the NBA world, are another chapter in which notable players and coaches have been involved in illegal sports gambling over the past century.

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Here’s a look back at some of the biggest betting scandals in professional sports.

• In 1920, eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted by a Chicago grand jury for fixing the 1919 World Series. It is known as the “Black Sox Scandal.” The jury returned a not guilty verdict on the players, but White Sox owner Charles Comiskey suspended the players, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. A year after the suspension, they were banned permanently by new baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
• In 1946, Hockey Hall of Famer Babe Pratt was suspended for gambling. He was reinstated weeks later, with the NHL Board of Governors issuing a warning that any further instances of gambling would lead to a lifetime suspension for a player.
• In 1948, two years after the NHL Board of Governors’ warning, Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger were issued lifetime bans for betting on games.
• In 1951, four members of the Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky Wildcats were accused of accepting bribes from players for an NIT game against Loyola during the 1948-1949 season. There were 35 active and former players accused of fixing at least 86 games between 1947 and 1951. An NCAA investigation found more violations, which led to the cancellation of Kentucky’s 1952–53 season.
• In 1989, Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose received a lifetime ban for gambling on games. Rose was found to have placed numerous bets on the Reds to win from 1985-1987 while playing and managing the team. He admitted to gambling in 2004 after years of claiming his innocence. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred posthumously removed Rose from the permanently ineligible list in May 2025, months after his death, allowing Rose to finally be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose is baseball’s all-time leader in hits with 4,256.

NBA LEGEND CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, HEAT’S TERRY ROZIER ARRESTED AS PART OF FBI GAMBLING PROBE

Pete Rose waves to fans during the unveiling of a bronze statue dedicated to him at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 17, 2017. (IMAGIN)

• In 1996, 13 Boston College football players were suspended for gambling. Two of the players bet against their own team during a 45-17 loss to Syracuse. Head coach Dan Henning informed school officials after hearing allegations of players placing bets with bookies and resigning. No signs of point shaving were found.
• In 2007, then-assistant coach Rick Tocchet was placed on two years of probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling as an assistant coach with the then-Phoenix Coyotes. He was reinstated by the NHL the following season. Also, initially implicated in a gambling scheme titled “Operation Slapshot” involving a New Jersey-based ring were several players; Wayne Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones; and Gretzky’s former agent and then-Coyotes general manager Michael Barnett. Tocchet is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
• In 2008, NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to wire fraud and transfer of betting information for taking thousands of dollars from a gambler in exchange for inside tips on games, including games he worked. He was sentenced by a federal judge to 15 months behind bars.
• In 2023, golfer Phil Mickelson was alleged to have wagered more than $1 billion over the past three decades in a book written by gambler Billy Walters. In the book, Walters wrote that Mickelson wanted to bet $400,000 on the 2012 Ryder Cup when he played for the United States. The six-time major winner refused to play at the Ryder Cup and wrote in a post on social media that he has stopped playing. Mickelson said he crossed the line from moderation to addiction.
• In 2023, Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto was suspended 41 games for sports betting. The NHL said there was no evidence Pinto bet on hockey, and Pinto did not disclose any details when he returned to the Senators.

NBA PLAYER TERRY ROZIER’S LAWYER SLAMS FBI AFTER ARREST

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) with shortstop Ippei Mizuhara against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training baseball game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

• In March 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and close friend of newly acquired two-way star Shohei Ohtani, following reports of his ties to an illegal bookmaker. Three months later, Mizuhara pleaded guilty in federal court to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s bank account. He used the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts at an illegal bookmaker, plus $325,000 in baseball cards and his own medical bills. Mizuhara took advantage of the language barrier to prevent Ohtani’s financial advisors from understanding their client, and at times Mizuhara even impersonated the player to the bank to perpetuate the fraud.
• In April 2024, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter after a league investigation found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and bet on games. Porter even bet on the Raptors losing. NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Porter’s actions “revealing.” The investigation began after unusual play patterns about Porter’s performance on March 20 against the Sacramento Kings. The league ruled that Porter gave a player information about his own health status prior to that game and said another person — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sportsbook. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
• In June 2024, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned for life by MLB for betting on baseball. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. The 24-year-old Venezuelan, with 149 games of major league experience, became the first active player in a century to be banned for life for gambling.
• Also in 2024, then-Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly was also suspended for one year for betting on baseball while in the minor leagues, and three minor leaguers were also suspended for one year for betting on major league games: pitchers Jay Groome of San Diego and Andrew Saalfrank of Philadelphia. Rodrí, and infielder. Each of these four players bet under $1,000. Saalfrank and Rodríguez previously played in the majors.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, June 17, 2025. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo, File)

• In February 2025, umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB for sharing his legal sports accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for knowingly deleting electronic messages relevant to the league’s investigation. While MLB said the investigation did not reveal evidence that Hoberg personally bet on baseball or rigged games, MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill recommended on May 24, 2024 that Hoberg be fired. Manfred upheld Hill’s decision. Among the highest-rated strike zone umpires, the earliest Hoberg could apply for reinstatement is in spring training in 2026. MLB said the friend made 141 baseball bets between April 2, 2021, and Nov. 1, 2023, totaling nearly $214,000 with a total winnings of nearly $35,000. Eight of the bets involved games where Hoberg worked.
• In July 2025, Major League Baseball placed Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz on non-disciplinary paid leave due to a gambling investigation. Almost a month later, two-time American League Reliever of the Year Emmanuel Clase joined him. MLB extended Clase and Ortiz’s paid leave “until further notice while MLB continues its investigation.” There is no update on the gambling probe at the time of writing.
• In September 2025, the NCAA announced it was investigating potential sports betting rules violations involving 13 former men’s basketball players who competed for Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State. The NCAA’s integrity monitoring program and network of sources flagged text messages and direct messages on social media platforms and uncovered unusual betting activity surrounding regular-season games. The violations include student-athletes betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for sports betting purposes, manipulating scores or results, and/or refusing to participate in the investigation.