Shaq and Charles Barkley Slam NBA Players, Coaches Involved in Gambling Scandal: ‘These Dudes Are Stupid’

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The Inside the NBA crew on Thursday reacted to the stunning arrests of several NBA figures as part of a pair of federal indictments.

Hours earlier, federal authorities arrested Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player and coach Damon Jones. Billups faces charges stemming from an investigation into an Mafia-backed poker scheme, Rozier was accused of being involved in a sports betting scheme, and Jones was named in both indictments.

The NBA notably investigated Rozier months before his arrest due to suspicious betting activity. At that time, the league cleared him.

Shaquille O’Neal said he was “ashamed” that the players and coaches involved would “put themselves and put their family and put the NBA in this position.” O’Neal continued:

We all know the rules. We all know the letter of the law, and it’s just unfortunate. You know, innocent to proven guilty, but usually, when the FBI has something, they have you… I know a lot of people in the FBI. I’ve been in many of those investigations. They’ll wait two, three, four, five years, but when they come knocking on your door, they have something.

Kenny Smith argued that the issue of gambling addiction was at play. Charles Barkley, however, strongly disagreed with that take and said the people involved were simply “stupid”:

This ain’t got nothing to do with addiction. These dudes are stupid. Under no circumstances can you fix basketball games — under no circumstances.

I love to gamble. The notion — like, Rozier makes $26 million. Him betting, giving people information, or taking himself out of games, how much is he gonna benefit taking himself out of the game to get unders? Like, he’s making $26 million!

The notion [that] he gave — how much of these guys [did he give] a heads-up? He took himself out of games on prop bets. How much money is he gonna make?

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