Jaylen Brown Claims NBA Did Not Protect Players Amidst Gambling Investigations: “We Don’t Benefit From Any Profits”

Jaylen Brown has witnessed two current NBA players being arrested by the FBI amidst gambling investigations.

Jaylen Brown Claims NBA Did Not Protect Players Amidst Gambling Investigations: “We Don’t Benefit From Any Profits”

Jaylen Brown advocated for players' safety (Image via FirstSportz)

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Jaylen Brown and the rest of the NBA’s offseason preparations came to fruition with a stellar opening to the 2025-26 campaign. That excitement was suddenly marred when the FBI announced they had arrested 3 current and former NBA personnel for illegal gambling.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player Damon Jones were among 31 people arrested and indicted for their involvement in either aiding bettors or running an illegal poker ring.

Billups was released on bail, while the others are also in the process of getting released. However, the NBA has suspended them with immediate effect, which means they cannot return to work until their respective trials are over.

As news of these arrests spread, gloom spread over the league. Players, both current and former, have been voicing different opinions. Jaylen Brown, a players’ union vice president, took a different route on gambling and the league.

That whole world was introduced a couple of years ago, and I don’t think they took players into consideration – especially with the energy, the behavior that goes around gambling, and how that directly correlates with players. We don’t benefit from any of the profits, but we’ve got to deal with a lot of the extra negativity and scrutiny behind all the gambling stuff. On top of that, it creates more integrity issues.

Jaylen Brown said

Jaylen Brown believes the NBA did not look into the impact players would face when they made gambling legal. His words seem to suggest that the league and betting companies gained from their arrangement at the expense of players’ safety.

NBA Hall of Famers participated in illegal poker ring that Chauncey Billups’ associates ran

Fans were aware of the allegations against Terry Rozier. Chauncey Billups’ arrest, however, blindsided everyone, as he was not named in any of the investigations to date.

Chauncey Billups and his lawyer after posting bail
Chauncey Billups and his lawyer after posting bail (Image via SS/YouTube)

After his arrest, investigative journalist Pablo Torre, who had been looking into Malik Beasley‘s involvement, received news that a certain Kevin Garnett participated in an illegal poker game.

It was revealed that they were run by the same individuals who were arrested for conspiracy with Billups. This alleged poker game took place in 2019 and followed the memo the Trail Blazers’ head coach had used to lure high-profile players.

However, a source close to the Hall of Fame forward clarified that Garnett was led to believe that it was a party. Once he figured out it was an illegal poker game, he left.

Adam Silver ‘deeply disturbed’ by FBI arrests

After the arrests, the NBA released a statement acknowledging the FBI’s investigations and the subsequent suspensions of the indicted personnel. Adam Silver did not personally speak about the situation until now.

My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed. There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.

Adam Silver told Cassidy Hubbarth

The Commissioner then went on to explain how his office did not find enough evidence to reprimand Terry Rozier. However, he revealed that since then, the league office has collaborated with federal authorities to dig deeper into the allegations.

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