Part of the rationale to legalize sports gambling was that professional athletes make so much money that they wouldn’t be tempted by bribes. It would be bonkers, the thinking went, to risk untold millions in career earnings by taking dirty dollars to throw games or manipulate statistical outputs.
Bonkers, meet Terry Rozier.
Federal prosecutors filed two new charges against the NBA point guard Thursday, alleging that he agreed to a $100,000 bribe as part of a gambling scheme that involved him intentionally removing himself early in a 2023 game so gamblers could win bets on him failing to reach his usual totals of points, assists and rebounds.
What might motivate Rozier to take part in such as scheme is perplexing. Consider this comparison:
Rozier, a 10-year veteran out of Louisville, has been paid $162 million playing for four NBA teams. He was under contract for $26 million for the 2025-2026 season. The $100,000 bribe prosecutors say he agreed to is the equivalent of $384 for someone making $100,000 a year.
The new indictment adds charges of bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy to the existing two wire fraud charges he has faced since October. Those charges followed a sprawling indictment of 34 defendants that also ensnared Hall of Fame player and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former Lakers assistant coach Damon Jones.
Rozier is not speaking to the media because of the ongoing criminal case, but his lawyer said that other defendants are lying about Rozier’s involvement to gain favor with prosecutors.
“There are some desperate men in this case with terrible criminal records and tons of exposure, and they know what to say to please these prosecutors,” said Jim Trusty, Rozier’s attorney.
In December, Trusty asked the federal judge overseeing the case, LaShann DeArcy Hall, to dismiss the initial charges against him, citing government overreach and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute. Hall heard oral arguments for the dismissal in April and has yet to issue a ruling.
“The new indictment confirms that our motion to dismiss was a good one — it’s just new charges and new theories trotted out in the hope that something sticks,” Trusty said.
The indictment alleges that Rozier — then a member of the Charlotte Hornets — informed co-defendant Deniro Laster that he would remove himself from a March 23, 2023, game against the New Orleans Pelicans because of a leg injury. Laster allegedly shared the information with several bettors, who bet $258,700 that Rozier would not reach his statistical averages.
Rozier was removed nine minutes into the game, finishing with five points, four rebounds and two assists. His rebounds total exceeded his average of 3.3 per game, causing some of the bets to lose. According to the indictment, Rozier agreed to reduce the alleged bribe to $70,000 to cover those losses.
As part of the proceedings Thursday, defendant Marves Fairley — described in the original indictment as representing himself on Instagram as a “gambling guru” — pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Fairley told the judge that he and associates obtained information from NBA players and coaches that could influence the outcomes of games and used it to place bets. He also said he placed fraudulent bets himself and on behalf of at least one professional player, who he did not identify.
“I agreed to pay a player to change their game performance to give me an advantage,” Fairley told the judge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Berman, however, named Rozier as the player. Fairley also admitted that he purchased information from Lakers assistant coach Damon Jones about the medical status of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Jones became the first of the 34 defendants to plead guilty, admitting in April that he urged a co-conspirator to “get a big bet on Milwaukee before the information is out!” ahead of a February 2023 game between the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks in which James was a late scratch because of a foot injury.
Two unidentified sportsbooks were named as victims of the alleged conspiracy in the original indictment, and the superseding indictment names the NBA and the Hornets as additional victims.
