Clay Travis Argues Legal Sportsbooks May Help Authorities Spot ‘Red Flags’ Amid Wild NBA Conspiracy

OutKick founder Clay Travis argued Thursday that the rise of legal sports betting may be doing more to expose corruption in professional sports than to encourage it now that “everyone” can see the “red flags.”

Speaking with Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer moments before FBI director Kash Patel’s presser started, the pair discussed the arrest of Miami Heat star Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, among others.

Travis argued the legalization of sports wagering has made it easier to spot “red flags” that used to stay hidden.

“I want to hear what the allegations are,” Travis said, before noting that Rozier has earned more than $160 million in his NBA career, while Billups “made over $100 million” before being inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.

“One thing that I think is occurring is now that we have more regulated sports gambling, we’re actually more likely to catch guys who are involved in sports gambling-related illegality,” he said.

He pointed to a 2023 case involving the University of Alabama’s baseball coach, who was caught trying to place bets through an out-of-state book.

“It flagged the guards because people say wait a minute, inside of these companies why is there so much betting money coming in this way. And so, sometimes, I just want to point out, it’s not necessarily that we’re getting more sports gambling regulated, it’s just that it’s caught now because in the past it was all under the table. Now everyone is able to do it,” Travis said.

“In the year 2025 you have 39 different states that make it legal,” the host replied, recalling how the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision opened the door for state-by-state legalization.

That patchwork, Hemmer argued, has created a sprawling, uneven system that leaves the leagues scrambling for consistent oversight.

“What [NBA Commissioner Adam] Silver is saying,” Hemmer added, “is you can’t have 39 different jurisdictions. You need one.”

The shift, he said, has made betting accessible to anyone: “You can sit in an arena or a stadium and on your phone you can place a bet on whether that player is going to hit the baseball or make the shot.”

“It seems like this is ripe for corruption on the court, on the field, off the court, off the field,” he said.

Travis agreed that the danger is real, invoking Pete Rose and the 1919 Black Sox scandal, but said transparency now cuts both ways.

“For fans, when players or managers are involved in the games themselves, that is when the red flags really take off. What you hit on is true. Look, this is now a big business. The leagues profit immensely off sports gambling,” he said.

Watch above via Fox News.