FBI director Kash Patel responded on Thursday to the claim from Stephen A. Smith.
The FBI on Thursday announced that several arrests had been made as a result of an investigation into fixed poker games and insider sports betting information. The matters involved Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier. Billups and Rozier were placed on leave by the NBA following their arrests.
Smith, who has flirted with the idea of running for president as a Democrat nominee, said on Thursday that the arrests were directed by Donald Trump to make the NBA look bad as revenge for many with the NBA opposing him and his policies. Smith further suggested that the WNBA could be targeted next.
Patel says that’s all hooey. He joined FOX News Channel anchor Laura Ingraham for an interview on Thursday and dismissed that suggestion.
“I’m the FBI director. I decide which arrest to conduct and which not to conduct. That may be the single dumbest thing I have ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C. It’s right up there with Adam Schiff. We arrest people for crimes,” Patel said.
“And, look, while the NBA is a piece of this, they are just a piece of that. And what the American people should know is, this FBI has no business in being the morality police. We are the police and the enforcement of the laws. If you break the law, we’re coming for you, whether you play in the NBA, coach in the NBA.
“And these individuals got in bed with La Cosa Nostra and four of the five major crime families in New York City to create gambling empires, to rob people of their money, to extort people, to commit acts of wire fraud, to rig games and poker games and basketball games just so they can make a few extra bucks.”
FBI Director Kash Patel tees off on Stephen A. Smith over the NBA betting arrests. Wild times! pic.twitter.com/GR3o9PsqXa
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 24, 2025
