The legalization by 38 states and normalization by leagues and media of betting has sparked a rash of incidents for sports other than pro football.
On Wednesday, David Purdum of ESPN.com reported that the NBA is investigating free-agent guard Malik Beasley for gambling allegations.
The situation flows from suspicion of gambling on NBA games and prop bets during the 2023-24 season, when Beasley played for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Attorney Steve Haney told ESPN that Beasley is “fully cooperating” with the NBA’s investigation.
The NBA’s investigation is believed, per Purdum, to be in its final stages.
Beasley has been investigated by federal authorities over the same allegations. There have been conflicting reports as to whether Beasley has been cleared.
Last year, the NBA banned for life Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter. Last month, his brother (who also plays in the NBA) predicted that these incidents will continue.
“Think about it,” Brooklyn Nets Michael Porter Jr. said, “if you could get all your homies rich by telling them, ‘Yo, bet $10,000 on my under this one game. I’m going to act like I’ve got an injury, and I’m going to sit out. I’m going to come out after three minutes. And they all get a little bag because you did it one game.”
To date, the NFL has avoided such problems. As far as we know. The possibility of a player in a fictional pro football league (not the NFL, wink) selling inside information to the mob is the premise of Big Shield, which you can instantly purchase in ebook form for only 99 cents.
Yes, I couldn’t resist plugging the book. I wrote it because I’m concerned about the integrity of the game being undermined by a major scandal. And the story is aimed at getting those who may be tempted to trade inside information for easy money to realize that there’s no such thing as easy money.
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