On Thursday morning, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, was arrested by the FBI in connection to their alleged involvement in illegal gambling. Billups, who's been the Blazers' head coach since 2021, is being investigated for his ties to an illegal poker operation involving the Mafia and was recently arraigned in court in downtown Portland.
Billups and his camp, however, are not going to take these charges lying down. As reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, he and his attorney are going to be fighting these charges as they look to clear the Blazers head coach's name from any wrongdoing and eventual jail time.
“Anyone who knows Chauncey Billups knows he is a man of integrity; men of integrity do not cheat and defraud others. To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his hall-of-fame legacy, his reputation, and his freedom. He would not jeopardize those things for anything, let alone a card game,” the statement from Billups' attorney reads.
“Furthermore, Chauncey Billups has never and would never gamble on basketball games, provide insider information, or sacrifice the trust of his team and the League, as it would tarnish the game he has devoted his entire life to.”
“Chauncey Billups has never backed down. He does not plan to do so now. He will fight these allegations with the same tenacity that marked his 28-year career. We look forward to our day in court.”
The Blazers head coach is currently facing federal conspiracy charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He will be required to surrender his passport and is currently restricted from any gambling activities. He will only be allowed to travel for his upcoming trial on the 24th of November in Brooklyn, New York.
Blazers look to move on from Chauncey Billups
The Blazers front office had belief in Billups' ability to lead the team back to playoff contention, and for what it's worth, they did look good on opening night despite suffering a 118-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But now that Billups is facing federal charges and is in danger of jail time, there appears to be little-to-no chance that the Blazers bring him back even if, by some chance, he manages to avoid punishment.
In the aftermath of this bombshell development, the Blazers named Tiago Splitter as the team's interim head coach.
