Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is under investigation for a potential link to the illegal gambling ring that was associated with Jontay Porter, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that federal investigators have been looking into whether Rozier manipulated his performance in a game during the 2022-23 season as part of a sports betting scheme. The game in question took place on March 23, 2023, when Rozier was with the Charlotte Hornets.
While Rozier has not been directly accused of any wrongdoing, investigators have reportedly determined that members of the gambling ring that is believed to have conspired with Porter “also bet heavily against Rozier” ahead of the 2023 game.
Rozier played just 10 minutes in the game in question, which was a 115-96 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists before exiting with a foot injury. He did not play in the final eight games of the season.
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA said the questions about Rozier were investigated by the league and that no wrongdoing was uncovered. The league said it is now cooperating with the federal investigation.
“The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation,” the statement read, via NBA reporter Chris Haynes.
On the evening of the 2023 game in question, a fantasy sports content creator noticed that many sportsbooks were inexplicably not offering any prop bets on Rozier. After Rozier exited the game early, the creator predicted that “conspiracy theorists are gonna run with this one.”
And now Rozier plays just 9 minutes and then is out the rest of the game? Conspiracy theorists are gonna run with this one. https://t.co/u3DX3H8uHw
— Noah (@DFSbyNoah) March 24, 2023
Other bettors made similar observations and wrote about them on social media.
Porter was banned from the NBA for life last April after league officials were alerted to irregularities with some prop bets related to his performance. It was determined that the former Toronto Raptors player provided confidential information to bettors and placed bets of his own, including on his own team to lose.
A recent court excerpt that was released showed shocking text messages that Porter allegedly sent as part of the illegal betting scheme. The 25-year-old pled guilty last summer to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Rozier was traded to the Heat in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a draft pick a year ago. The 30-year-old has two years remaining on a 4-year $96 million contract.
Rozier is averaging 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in his first full season in Miami.
