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There has been a lot of commotion in the sports world recently over the fact that players are landing in trouble for gambling while the leagues they play in are actively promoting gambling sites. Charles Barkley recently made an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, where he had a simple and stern message for the players.
“Under no circumstance, as a player, should you talk to your friends about gambling, to shave points, good or bad, prop bets," Barkley said. "As a player, you could never ever entertain influencing the outcome of a game. Don’t make excuses, man. Sports gambling is a big thing, it’s gonna be there no matter what.
"But as a player, and I'm just talking to the players, under no circumstances can you get yourself in a situation where you're involved with gambling at the point where you can fix a game, beat some type of stupid prop bet," Barkley continued. "Guys I'm just telling you, don’t ever do that because you gonna get banned for life if you gonna do that."
(starts at 9:12 mark):
Whether you think it's fair or foul for leagues to promote gambling agencies, the fact remains that an NBA player cannot make bets on NBA games. They would be hurting the integrity of the game if they do that and that's never acceptable. If you go a step further and start fixing games in any way, then your career might well be over if you get caught.
If someone just loves gambling a bit too much, then they can just bet on some other league. New York Knicks forward Josh Hart bets on NFL games and there are no issues with doing something like that.
Jontay Porter Is Being Investigated By The NBA For Betting On Games
The latest NBA player to find themselves in trouble over gambling is Jontay Porter, who is currently on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors. The NBA has launched an investigation into Porter for betting on games, with the issue being prop bets.
In a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 26, Porter played just four minutes and then exited due to aggravation of an eye injury he had suffered earlier. While that alone would hardly cause any suspicion, DraftKings Sportsbook then stated that the under on Porter's 3-pointers was the biggest money winner for bettors of any NBA player props from games that evening.
Then on Mar. 20 against the Sacramento Kings, Porter played just three minutes and left the game reportedly due to illness. Just like the last time, DraftKings Sportsbook reported that Porter's prop bets were the No. 1 moneymaker from the night in the NBA.
So, it doesn't appear there is any kind of match-fixing involved here but the whole situation should be cleared up once the NBA finishes its investigation. One person who seems certain that Jontay is innocent is his brother.
Michael Porter Jr. defended Jontay amid the NBA's betting investigation. He stated that he highly doubts his brother would do such a thing to put his career in jeopardy. It is what you would expect to hear from a family member, and I have to say it would be quite a bizarre coincidence for two such instances to pop up.
More must-reads:
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