NBA rocked by rigged poker and basketball game scandals
More than 30 people have been indicted in two federal cases known as Operation Royal Flush and Operation Nothing But Net, prosecutors say.
The NBA has reached out to several teams seeking records and access to cellphones as part of its ongoing investigation into an alleged gambling ring.
The Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams the league has contacted, according to multiple media reports.
“The NBA engaged an independent law firm to investigate the allegations in the indictment once it was made public,” a league spokesperson said in a statement. “As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organizations were asked to preserve documents and records. Everyone has been fully cooperative.”
A federal indictment last month resulted in the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones, alleging that they took part in a scheme to use private information to help bettors win money.
The league has been under scrutiny from Capitol Hill after an earlier NBA investigation cleared Rozier of gambling violations. In response, the NBA told House and Senate committees that the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz has begun contacting teams asking for access to cellphones, among other items.
According to The Athletic, Lakers assistant trainer Mike Mancias and front-office exec Randy Mims are among the team employees who are cooperating with the investigation and have already turned over their phones.
Jones – a close friend of LeBron James – was a former shooting coach for the Lakers. He has been accused of selling private injury information about two Lakers players (believed to have been James and Anthony Davis) he received from one of the team’s athletic trainers.
James is not named in the indictment and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
