When Shaquille O’Neal speaks, people listen — especially when the subject hits close to home in the world of basketball. The NBA legend didn’t hold back as he reacted to the bombshell FBI investigation that sent shockwaves through the league just two days into the new season.
Federal agents arrested more than 30 people — including NBA player Terry Rozier and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups — in connection with a sprawling, Mafia-led illegal sports betting and poker ring allegedly tied to New York’s infamous Gambino, Bonanno, and Genovese crime families.
On ESPN’s Inside the NBA, O’Neal shared his thoughts with co-hosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. “I know Chauncey and I know Damon [Jones] very well,” Shaq said solemnly. “I’m ashamed that those guys would put their families and their careers in jeopardy. If you’re making $9 million, how much more do you need?”
He continued, “Especially when you know that if you get caught, you could do jail time, lose your career, and put a bad image on your family and the NBA. They dropped the ball.”
The four-time champion also offered a blunt reminder of how federal investigations work: “Innocent until proven guilty, but usually when the FBI has something, they have you. They’ll wait years — but when they knock on your door, they’ve got you.”
Shaq’s co-analysts offered differing views. Kenny Smith suggested that gambling addiction may have driven some of the poor decisions. “You have to realize gambling is an addiction,” Smith said, “so the addiction of it makes you make illogical choices.”
Charles Barkley, however, wasn’t having it. “This ain’t got nothing to do with addiction,” he said flatly. “These dudes are stupid. You can’t, under any circumstances, fix basketball games. Rozier makes $26 million — what’s he doing giving people information or taking himself out of games? How much more do you need?”
The investigation details are stunning: prosecutors claim the ring used X-ray poker tables and high-tech contact lenses to read marked cards, while athletes like Billups were allegedly used as “face cards” to lure high rollers into rigged games in Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Las Vegas.
Billups’ attorney, Chris Heywood, swiftly defended his client. “Anyone who knows Chauncey Billups knows he is a man of integrity,” Heywood told ESPN. “He would not jeopardize his legacy or his freedom — let alone over a card game.”
For Shaq, the message was simple — and stern. “You work your whole life to build your name,” he said. “Don’t throw it away for something like this.”
Above: O’Neal’s former teammate, Damon Jones, was also arrested in relation to the investigation.