The NBA had a meeting with the Congressional committee in the wake of the FBI indictments of Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones. During the meeting, there were some important people absent, on which included commissioner Adam Silver, according to Marc Stein.
“Neither Adam Silver nor deputy commissioner Mark Tatum were in attendance today, source tells The Stein Line, at the Congressional committee meeting with the NBA sparked by the recent indictments of Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones,” Stein wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Instead, league attorneys and a gambling consultant answered questions from lawyers and congressional aides for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. The meeting lasted for less than an hour, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
“The House sought details about the fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NBA players, coaches, and officials, including the actions of NBA players and coaches identified in the recent indictment; as well as prior instances,” Vardon wrote.
Billups was indicted for his alleged participation in a wide-ranging, years-long scheme to defraud card players in poker games in 2019 when he wasn't a coach or a player. Rozier was charged for allegedly taking himself out of a game on purpose in 2023 so a co-conspirator could place a bet and win.
As for Jones, he was charged with using his relationship with Los Angeles Lakers players to place bets. In 2023, Jones found out that LeBron James was not playing against the Milwaukee Bucks, and he told an unnamed co-conspirator to place a bet on the Bucks. Jones also did the same thing in 2024 when he learned from a trainer that a Lakers player was hurt and his minutes would be restricted.
Two men who were identified in the charging documents as “Co-conspirator 1” and “Player 2” are both former or current NBA players, but haven't been charged yet. Player 2 was a starter for the Orlando Magic in 2023.
