Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was given a lifetime ban from the NBA after a probe uncovered his “blatant violations” of gambling rules, the league’s harshest punishment.
Porter was accused of the ultimate sin in professional sports: Betraying the integrity of NBA competition itself by sharing inside information and gambling on his own team’s performances.
In announcing the ban, Commissioner Adam Silver did not mince words about the severity of Porter’s misconduct.
Silver said that “there is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport.” Porter is only the second person ever banned for life under Silver’s tenure.
The investigation determined Porter leaked confidential details about his health status to gamblers ahead of a March 20 game against Sacramento. An unidentified bettor then wagered a staggering $80,000 that Porter would fail to meet certain individual stats tracked by sportsbooks – in other words, betting that Porter would underperform or be limited due to the undisclosed injury.
Porter played less than three minutes in that contest before departing, citing illness. With his numbers falling short of betting projections, the $80,000 wager would have paid out a windfall of $1.1 million had it not been frozen by the casino after they were tipped off by the NBA’s gambling integrity monitors.
Investigators also found Porter personally placed dozens of bets on NBA games totaling over $54,000 using another person’s account – including multi-game parlays betting on the Raptors, his own team, to lose. While those wagers did not involve games he played in, the league deemed it an unacceptable violation of rules prohibiting any conflict of interest.
Facing a potential $2 million payday from the Raptors next season, Porter has destroyed his once-promising basketball future.
His actions could forever taint the league’s reputation — and calls further into question the multi-billion dollar relationships professional sports leagues have with gambling apps like DraftKings and BetMGM.
The Horn News’ Publisher Stephen Dietrich and the Associated Press contributed to this article