The NBA has put its sneaker-clad foot down on players’ sports betting. The league banned Toronto Raptors forward-center Jontay Porter for life after he shared confidential information with bettors and limited his own play time to fulfill certain bets, it said in a Wednesday announcement. It’s the first time in 70 years that the league has banned a player for gambling.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in the release.Â
Silver called the players’ betting a “cardinal sin” in the sport. League rules say that no NBA employees, including players, coaches, and referees, are allowed to gamble on NBA games. In March, Minnesota Timberwolves player Rudy Gobert was fined $100,000 for making a money gesture at a referee, insinuating the official influenced a game’s outcome because of bettors. According to the NBA’s 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, players are required to attend at least one anti-gambling training session.
The NBA says it opened an investigation into Porter in late March, days after a March 20 game when Porter claimed he was ill in order to limit his play time to three minutes, influencing the outcomes on bets placed on him. The investigation found that Porter told people he knew were NBA bettors about his health. A bettor then placed a $80,000 prop bet that would result in a $1.1 million payday if Porter underperformed in the game.
In the months before, Porter placed a total of 13 wagers on games varying from $15 to $22,000, per the NBA, though none of the bets were on games in which Porter participated, according to the announcement.Â
The NBA did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment. Attempts to reach Porter through a representative were not…
