Adam Silver: Jontay Porter May Face League Ban in Betting Probe
Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter may be banished from the NBA.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on Wednesday at the two-day Board of Governors meeting that Porter may have committed a “cardinal sin” as the league continues to investigate him for sports betting-related issues. Silver went as far to say the gambling penalties of such offenses could result in the league banning him from the game.
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“That’s the level of authority I have here, because there’s nothing more serious,” he said.
It’s one of the strongest stances a commissioner of one of the major pro sports leagues has taken since the Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting in 2018. The Big Four have since signed numerous lucrative partnerships with sports betting companies and operations. This includes the NBA, which has FanDuel and DraftKings as partners.
Despite the league’s relationship with gaming companies, Silver said that there’s always concern that there’s “inappropriate behavior” with players around gambling..
“I mean, this is not new that there’s unsavory behavior, even illegal behavior, around sports betting,” he said. “I guess my point is that to the extent it’s going to exist, if you have a regulated environment, you’re going to have a better chance of detecting it than you would if all the bets were placed illegally.”
Porter was first placed under investigation by the league following multiple instances of irregularities with prop bets over the last few months. U.S. sportsbooks reportedly detected unusual betting interest on Porter props during games on Jan. 26 and March 20. Porter played briefly in both of those games before exiting citing illness or injury.
The league and its teams have staff that monitor sports betting irregularities and integrity issues. U.S. Integrity Inc., a tech-driven sports betting monitoring company, also calls the NBA a client.
Porter, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021, will miss his 10th straight game on Wednesday night as the team holds him out. He’s the younger brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. The reigning NBA champ said last month that he “highly” doubts that his brother would do anything to jeopardize the game he loves.
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