Former NBA Player, Coach Damon Jones Will Plead Guilty In Illegal Betting Scheme
A reported Damon Jones guilty plea puts the NBA’s gambling problem back in focus at the wrong time.
The NBA is making headlines for the wrong reason, just as it tries to win back viewers and fans ahead of the upcoming playoffs.
Reportedly, former NBA player and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Damon Jones will be the first conspirator to plead guilty to a gambling scheme for which the Feds arrested more than 30 people, including members of the Mafia and basketball officials.
Allegedly, Jones will cop to selling, or trying to sell, injury information about LeBron James and Anthony Davis to organized crime and profiting from rigged illegal poker games.
Related: OLD VIDEO SURFACES OF POKER PRO CALLING OUT CHAUNCEY BILLUPS RIGGED GAMES
Former NBA player Damon Jones arrives to his arraignment hearing for charges related to selling insider information to mobsters and rigging illegal poker games at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District in New York City. (Photo credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Jones once told a co-conspirator, "Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out," regarding non-public information about LeBron missing a Bucks vs. Los Angeles Lakers game in 2023 because of injury.
Former Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer, Chauncey Billups, and former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are facing similar charges for their roles in these operations.
This news comes at the worst time for the NBA, which faces scrutiny for load management and a third of the league tanking. It is among the first American leagues to embrace sports betting, partnering with sportsbooks as early as July 2018.
Now, the Association is in a tough spot. This is exactly the kind of scandal that eats away at the league’s credibility. It's tough promoting gambling during your games and coverage, and then acting shocked when that same culture infects your locker rooms and coaching staffs.
There's a chance that if the NBA doesn't distance itself from including betting odds in its broadcasts, the public won't see these as isolated incidents; they'll see them as the inevitable cost of doing business in a league that has sold its soul to the sportsbooks.
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