Jontay Porter Banned by NBA for Betting on Basketball

04/18/2024 Jontay Porter Banned by NBA for Betting on Basketball

By: Jeff Yoder

Porter is the First Person to be Banned by the NBA Since Donald Sterling in 2014

Quick question: Which man has been worse for the NBA’s public relations? Porter or Sterling? Never mind, please don’t answer that. The main takeaway is that it’s bad to be in the same category as the disgraced former governor (owner) of the Clippers.

 

There’s a good reason for that, though. Porter is the nightmare that the NBA and other major sports leagues have been hoping would never come up ever since legalized sports betting began sweeping the nation. The leagues knew that making deals with sportsbooks would lead to increased revenue and fan engagement, but the cost was an increased risk that the integrity of the games would come into question.

 

After reading about what Porter did, it’s hard not to be skeptical about the relationship between sports and gambling. On March 20, Porter told an NBA bettor information about his health status that was confidential. After the bettor placed an $80,000 wager on some of Porter’s under props, Porter left the game due to illness with just three minutes played. Not only did he give insider information away to a bettor, but he also “limited his own participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets,” according to an NBA press release.

 

Additionally, the NBA found Porter guilty of making at least 13 bets on NBA games for a total of $54,094. Three of the 13 wagers were parlays in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. That’s right, Porter couldn’t even be like Pete Rose and bet on his team to win. Although, it’s not like the Raptors were very good this season.

 

Was the juice worth the squeeze for Porter? He is on a two-way contract that allows him to split time between the Raptors and the G League, but he is still making over $400,000 this year and is only 24 years old. Porter could have made over $2 million next season if Toronto signed him to a standard NBA contract. How much could have been offered to Porter to make him throw away an NBA career? Are there other players at the bottom of NBA rosters sneakily manipulating NBA games to serve gamblers? Many questions remain.

 

Read More

NBA: Press Release

AP: NBA bans Jontay Porter after gambling probe shows he bet on games

 

 Photo:  Alika Jenner / Getty Images