Los Angeles Clippers fans jeered Portland Trail Blazers players during a game, chanting ‘F-B-I’ as the Blazers took free throws, in response to the recent arrest of head coach Chauncey Billups. Billups, along with over two dozen others, was charged in an FBI investigation involving a gambling ring linked to organized crime, with allegations of rigged poker games and sports betting. The NBA has placed Billups on leave, and interim coach Tiago Splitter will lead the Trail Blazers.
Billups, a NBA Hall of Famer, has denied any wrongdoing, stating that he would not jeopardize his legacy or reputation for anything, including a card game. His attorney emphasized that he has never and would never gamble on basketball games, provide insider information, or sacrifice the trust of his team. Billups and his legal team intend to fight the allegations with the same tenacity that marked his 28-year career.
The poker games allegedly tied to the La Cosa Nostra crime families, where Billups and Jones, dubbed the ‘face cards’, were used as celebrity figures to entice competitors to play in the games. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that Billups was among five defendants who ‘organized and participated in rigged poker games’ in Las Vegas in 2019, where a ‘rigged shuffling machine’ was used. One victim lost at least $50,000, and another defendant texted another co-conspirator that Billups should purposely lose a hand to avoid any cheating allegations.
Billups and Rozier were both placed on immediate leave of absence by the NBA, and the Trail Blazers are being led by interim head coach Tiago Splitter, who has a 1-2 record to start the season. Billups is set to be arraigned at a federal courthouse in New York on November 24. The NBA and federal authorities continue to investigate the cases, with the Trail Blazers focusing on their season under Splitter’s leadership.