Speaking about the arrests for the first time, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was “deeply disturbed” by the events of the past few days.
“There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition,” he told Amazon Prime. “And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.”
Silver also said an NBA investigation into Rozier’s actions in March 2023, when there was “aberrational betting” in a game he played for the Charlotte Hornets against the New Orleans Pelicans, found nothing untoward.
“It was brought to our attention by the regulators and the betting companies,” he added.
“We then looked into that situation and were very transparent about it. And while there was that aberrational betting, we, frankly, couldn’t find anything.
“The federal government has subpoena power… [it] can threaten to put people in jail, can do all kinds of things that the league office can’t do.
“So, we’ve been working with them since then. And, of course, what they announced yesterday was an indictment.
“And two and a half years later, he still hasn’t been convicted of anything, in fairness to Terry.
“Obviously, it doesn’t look good, but he’s been put on administrative leave, and so it is a balance here between protecting people’s rights and investigating.”
