After the team lost to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested by the FBI in connection with sports gambling, as the 31-year-old had been under federal investigation for some time. While Rozier had been cleared of wrongdoing by the NBA previously, the federal government made arrests today, including the Heat guard, which led to a statement from his attorney.
Rozier's lawyer, Jim Trusty, released a statement to Pablo Torre, where he would start by first having an issue with the arrest made on Thursday morning, hoping for an “open line of communication” regarding any developments. He would accuse the FBI of wanting “the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete.”
He would also say that Rozier is “not a gambler” and that he “looks forward to winning this fight.”
“We have represented Terry Rozier for over a year,” Trusty said. “A long time ago, we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication. They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning, they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender, they opted for a photo op.”
“They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case. They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA, and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.”
Heat's Terry Rozier arrested by the FBI in relation to sports betting
Rozier had said he was ready for this Heat season and that the federal investigation wasn't a factor in his mind when preparing for the new year, though now he has been arrested after the opener. Shams Charania of ESPN initially reported the news, with likely more updates coming soon due to a press conference from FBI director Kash Patel set for Thursday.
“Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested early Thursday morning as part of an FBI sports betting gambling probe, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The Eastern District of New York and FBI director Kash Patel will hold a press conference at 10 am ET to announce arrests from investigation.”
At any rate, it remains to be seen what happens with Rozier regarding his arrest, as the Heat are still in the midst of starting their season with their next game on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
