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NBA player Terry Rozier is getting ready to prove his innocence in a tremendous gambling controversy, but prosecutors aren’t buying it.
The guard is accused of purposely taking himself out of a game while playing for the Charlotte Hornets, so friends could cash in on bets on his “under” propositions.
According to reports, attorney David Markus filed a motion to dismiss two charges against Rozier. In the motion, Markus wrote that a text sent by Rozier’s friend and co-defendant, Deniro Laster, showed that Rozier was unaware of any bets and did not agree to any sort of fix.
“Dont tell chum bout the bet,” Laster allegedly wrote in the March 29 text, six days after Rozier played just nine minutes and left the game due to an apparent injury. Chum is Rozier’s nickname, the filing noted.
The recipient responded, “Hell no,” the filing said.
“This should end the case. One does not hide a bet from the person who supposedly sold it,” Markus said in the filing.
However, federal prosecutors say they have evidence showing that the text did not relate to sports gambling.
Rozier is alleged to have told Laster that he would take himself out of a game early, citing an injury so Laster could place wagers based on the information. Neither Hornets officials nor betting companies were made aware of Rozier’s plan, according to the indictment, and Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report.
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Laster then allegedly sold that information to other co-conspirators, and numerous people placed wagers totaling roughly $200,000 on Rozier’s “under” prop bets in both parlay and straight wagers. After Rozier played just nine minutes and never returned, the bets won. Rozier and Laster counted cash winnings at Rozier’s home in Charlotte roughly a week later, the indictment says.
Prosecutors in April said they sought to file superseding charges of sports bribery and honest services wire fraud during a hearing. Prosecutors said they had evidence that Rozier solicited and received a bribe amid the alleged gambling scheme.
Rozier was waived by the Miami Heat earlier this year.
Nearly three dozen people were arrested last October in two separate cases, one regarding betting on NBA games based on insider knowledge, and another regarding a poker ring in which former guard and head coach Chauncey Billups allegedly participated in rigged games.
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Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones was named in both cases and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
