The National Basketball Association has taken the rare action of handing a lifetime ban to a player to “protect the integrity” of the league.
On Wednesday, the league announced that it was banning Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter after an investigation into allegations of gambling.
On its webpage, the league announced that its investigation “finds Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors and also bet on NBA games.”
Officials claimed that Porter “limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game.”
According to Sports Illustrated’s Raptors page, Porter disclosed confidential medical information about his own medical status to a person he knew to be an NBA gambler.
BREAKING: Raptors center Jontay Porter has received a lifetime ban from the NBA for disclosing confidential info to sports bettors. pic.twitter.com/MVHIF2NulD
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 17, 2024
Another better placed an $80,000 bet on Porter to underperform during a March 20 game. During that game, Porter left the game after only three minutes without returning.
The bet was flagged by the sportsbook, and the payout was refused.
Is this a fair punishment?
That was not the only accusation lodged against Porter.
Porter placed some 13 bets on NBA games while playing with the Raptors or the Raptors 905. The bets ranged from $15 to $22,000 and totaled $54,095. He reportedly won $21,965 on the wagers, the league reported.
“None of the bets involved any game in which Porter played. Three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. All three bets lost,” the NBA said in its report.
The betting history was brought to the league’s attention by licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors the betting markets.
The NBA added that the information used to ban the player is not necessarily the end of the investigation and more information may be forthcoming.
“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 being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.
“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players,” Silver added.
“Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game,” he concluded.
Porter, 24, has played with various teams and their affiliate teams. He first joined the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020 but soon ended up in the Memphis Hustle. From there he drifted to the Wisconsin Herd and Motor City Cruise before joining the Toronto Raptors in 2023. But after only a season he was traded down to the Raptors 905.
The now banned player attended the University of Missouri until 2019 when he stood for the 2019 NBA Draft.
