Charles Barkley didn’t mince his words on Inside the NBA when addressing the Mafia-linked sports betting scandal that has rocked the league and implicated several high-profile figures.
With 34 people indicted—including Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones—Barkley delivered a blunt message about the alleged corruption.
“These dudes are stupid,” Barkley said. “Why are they stupid? You, under no circumstances can you fix basketball games. Under, under no circumstances.”
The Hall of Famer’s frustration stems from allegations that Rozier, a guard for the Miami Heat, left a February 2023 game early to help associates profit over $200,000 from a prop bet tied to his performance. Rozier reportedly earns $26 million a year.
“I love to gamble,” Barkley continued. “The notion, like, Rozier makes $26 million. Him betting, giving people information, or taking himself out of games. How much is he going to benefit taking himself out of the game to get unders? Like, he’s making $26 million.”
The federal indictment, unsealed October 23, 2025, accuses Rozier of using inside information to manipulate betting outcomes.
Prosecutors say he intentionally exited games to meet betting conditions, while others allegedly used confidential data to place bets on at least seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024.
The investigation, led by the FBI and NYPD, started in 2023 and has since expanded to include rigged poker games involving Mafia families like the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno organizations.
Authorities claim Billups and Jones worked with these groups to fix high-stakes poker games using altered shuffling machines, marked cards and even X-ray tables. The schemes reportedly cheated players out of roughly $7 million.
Both Rozier and Billups were placed on leave following their arrests. All parties have denied wrongdoing.
Shaquille O’Neal, Barkley’s co-host on Inside the NBA, echoed the disappointment, pointing to the mandatory league briefings players receive on gambling rules.
“Every year they would give us forums on what and what not to do,” O’Neal said. “So all these guys knew what was at stake. And I’m just ashamed that they put themselves and put their family and put the NBA in this position.”
He added, “We all know the rules, we all know the letter of the law, and it’s just unfortunate. You know, innocent until proven guilty. But usually when the FBI has something, they have you.”
The indictment also describes how NBA figures were used as “face cards” to attract wealthy poker players to luxury locations in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons.
Once there, victims were allegedly cheated using hidden tech and pressured for debts through threats and intimidation.
The timing of the scandal couldn’t be worse for the NBA, which is finalizing a massive 11-year, $76 billion broadcast deal. The league is now bracing for potential financial fallout and reputational damage.
Congress has since requested a briefing from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, raising questions about the league’s oversight of gambling activity and its partnerships with betting companies.
“There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition,” Silver said during an interview at halftime of the Boston Celtics-New York Knicks game. “And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.”
Legal experts warn this may only be the beginning. Some former officials believe the scope of the scandal could widen as more evidence surfaces.
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