Last week, the FBI announced a major sting operation that implicated members of several Mafia families as well as several past and current NBA stars.
The scheme at issue allegedly involved fixed games as well as illegal poker games, which were also reportedly rigged.
It now appears that a former NFL star, Antonio Gates, has also been implicated in the controversy, a crushing blow to fans who now have to be wondering whether they can trust the outcome of any professional game.
If I said I was shocked when the arrests were announced, I would be lying, as I have thought for quite some time that it would be fairly easy for organized crime figures to get their hooks into a player, coach, or referee.
In this instance, the Mafia allegedly had at least one coach and one player (other arrests were later announced) who were allegedly selling injury information or faking injuries to rig the outcome of games.
The two big names from the NBA were Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncy Billups (he also played in the NBA) and current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
There is now a video floating around social media of a game believed to have been fixed by Rozier faking an injury and leaving the game early, a scenario that reportedly netted the gambling ring about $200,000.
As the week progressed, it became clear that the scandal went much deeper than just a few rigged games, as a poker-related scheme was also announced.
Big-name athletes were reportedly used to lure in “fish” to high-stakes poker games, which were allegedly being fixed with rigged shufflers, x-ray devices, and the like. Over the course of the scheme, the ring reportedly netted more than $7 million.
However, reports have surfaced from one alleged “fish,” someone who is marked in the game as easy money, that there was an NFL player present at one such game.
Speculation then grew as to how deep this lawlessness penetrated the sports world and whether other sports had been compromised as well.
The mystery of the aforementioned NFL player was solved this week, when reports broke that former San Diego tight end Antonio Gates was allegedly involved in the poker aspect of the gambling ring.
Journalist Pablo Torre broke the story on X, claiming that the Hall of Fame tight end “hosted -- and played in -- an allegedly rigged Miami poker game, sources with direct knowledge tell @pablofindsout, that was organized by Curtis Meeks. Meeks was indicted by the federal government Thursday.”
If this is true, the assumption is going to be that other players were also involved, but that is pure speculation on my part.
This was the big fear that professional sports teams had when the leagues expanded to Las Vegas, as commissioners were worried about players falling into the trap of “easy money” by taking part in fixed games. Now, I am not going to say that games are outright manipulated, but we have all seen some questionable endings that appear to be a bit more than luck. I don’t know about you, but I am starting to wonder if we can trust the legitimacy of the NBA, possibly even the NFL, ever again.
