The sports world and the gambling world continue to collide, and on Thursday morning, it was announced that multiple players from several Division 1 college basketball programs had been indicted by a grand jury on charges of alleged point shaving. Among those programs was DePaul where forward Mac Etienne is accused of recruiting teammates to help fix games by means of point shaving, as per Nick Palazzolo of The Blue Demon Media Network.
Mac Etienne reportedly began helping fix DePaul games in February 2024, along with teammates Jalen Terry, Da’Sean Nelson and a yet to be named player. The case is tied back to gambling organizers Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, who reportedly began their operation overseas with the Chinese Basketball Association.
Among the other college basketball programs named in the indictment were Nicholls State, Tulane, Northwestern State, St. Louis, La Salle, Fordham, Robert Morris, Southern Miss, North Carolina A&T, Kennesaw State, Coppin State, New Orleans, Abilene Christian, Eastern Michigan and Alabama State.
The case comes on the heels of the major scandal that broke back in October involving Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones. Billups and Jones were accused of participating in rigged poker games that had mob ties, while Rozier reportedly funneled insider information to gamblers to win bets on NBA games.
And in 2024, Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA after being charged with sharing confidential information relating to his health to gamblers to then place bets. Porter was on a two-way contract, and the case led to the NBA banning bets on players on two-way contracts or 10-day contracts.
