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Former Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA. After reports emerged that Porter was under investigation for violating league betting rules, the NBA dropped the hammer on Porter this week. According to widespread reports, the league has decided to ban Porter after investigations into his betting history turned up sufficient evidence against him.
As the investigation has indicated, Porter manipulated games with his participation and his efficiency for betting purposes. In some cases, Porter also reportedly disclosed confidential information about his health to a sports bettor prior to a Mar. 20 game.
A series of tweets from league insider Shams Charania shed light on the situation, with the league indicating that Porter placed 13 bets from January to March. While Porter himself reportedly only made $21,965, an associate of Porter's was able to place an $80,000 parlay that won the user $1.1 million.
Thanks to the info provided by Porter in this instance, the associate who placed the $80,000 bet was able to predict that Porter would underperform in the game. In another instance, Porter reportedly bet that the Raptors would lose, raising questions about the integrity of the game.
Of course, Adam Silver previously indicated, if the league's investigation into Jontay Porter's betting activities turned up evidence, he could face a permanent ban. As the league's official statement about the situation indicated, however, the investigation is still open and may yield even more evidence against Porter.
"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition" - Adam Silver releases statement on heels of Jontay Porter's lifetime ban
As previously mentioned, Adam Silver indicated earlier in the month that the NBA would act accordingly if there was evidence of Jontay Porter violating league rules. Along with the news that the league had issued a lifetime ban to Porter, a statement from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also surfaced.
The official statement released by the league via the NBA PR social media accounts included the statement from Silver, which read, in part:
"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams, and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter's blatant violations of our gaming rules are met with the more severe punishment."
Toward the end of Silver's statement, he also addressed a point man fans have been making in recent weeks amid the news of the Jontay Porter scandal. With sports betting becoming more and more commonplace, situations like these could result in changes to sports betting as a whole.
In the past 12 months, sports betting scandals have begun to pop up across professional sports. In the UFC, coach James Krause fell under FBI investigation for a betting scandal, while in the MLB, Shohei Ohtani's translator is currently under investigation for a betting scandal.
As Silver indicated in his statement, the league will look to work closely in order to ensure the integrity of the game amid the rise in sports betting activity. Stay tuned for updates as they become available.
Guess the Lakers players!
