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NBA gambling row just ‘tip of iceberg’; disgraced referee predicts ‘bigger scandal’
Ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who was imprisoned for fixing games, said that the arrests are just a tip of the iceberg.
The NBA gambling scandal could be bigger than it seems. Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who was imprisoned for fixing games, said that the arrests of multiple high-profile individuals, including Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones, are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’. He claimed that student-athletes are likely throwing games to make quick cash.
Speaking Thursday on NewsNation’s ‘Cuomo’ with Chris Cuomo, Donaghy said that the real trouble may soon emerge at the college level.
“You’re going to see maybe a bigger scandal coming out of college,” he predicted. “These young athletes who aren’t going to make it to the next level, someone will offer them money to fix a game, maybe win by 12 instead of 15, and they’ll take it because they need to support their families.”
His comments came as the NCAA on Friday announced that three former Eastern Michigan players, identified as Jalin Billingsley, Da'Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry, violated the governing body's rules by refusing to cooperate with an investigation into potential sports betting violations. They could have faced permanent ineligibility, but they are no longer on the roster.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced more than 30 arrests tied to an 11-state probe into illegal gambling and organized crime. The sweeping crackdown targeted two overlapping rings: one involving rigged poker games and another dealing in insider sports betting. Both operations were allegedly backed by members of New York’s Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese mafia families.
Billups, a 2004 NBA champion and Hall of Famer, was charged in connection with the poker ring that used x-ray technology and modified card shufflers to cheat high rollers. Rozier, meanwhile, faces charges related to sports betting and alleged prop bet manipulation, while Damon Jones has been implicated in both schemes.
Among those arrested were reputed mob figures Ernest Aiello, Ammar “Flapper Poker” Awawdeh, Thomas “Tommy Juice” Gelardo, and Matthew “The Wrestler” Daddino, alongside several professional poker players and known associates.
Donaghy, who spent 11 months in prison after a 2007 FBI probe exposed his own role in betting on games he officiated, says the league’s current scandal mirrors the pressure and temptation that once led him astray. He reportedly made over $300,000 by leaking inside information to bookies and claimed the Gambino crime family coerced him into the scheme.
