Adam Silver Says Jontay Porter Could Be Banned From The NBA After Betting Scandal
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has finally addressed the betting scandal involving Raptors’ forward Jontay Porter. Porter was reportedly betting on games he was playing, with unnatural betting trends on his unders. Silver called Porter’s action a cardinal sin and revealed he can hand him a career ban from the NBA.
“I have an enormous range of discipline available to me. It’s a cardinal sin, what he’s accused of in the NBA. The ultimate extreme option I have is to ban him from the game. That’s the level of authority I have here because there’s nothing more serious.”
The NBA isn’t re-thinking its position on sports betting either, with Silver elaborating on the chances of players engaging in illegal sports betting.
“I mean, this is not new that there’s unsavory behavior, even illegal behavior, around sports betting. I guess my point is that to the extent it’s going to exist, if you have a regulated environment, you’re going to have a better chance of detecting it than you would if all the bets were placed illegally.”
The NBA is going to send a powerful message with whatever happens to Porter if he’s guilty. Given the important part betting plays in modern sports now, it’s fair to say that the consequences on Porter will set the benchmark for what future players could face if they’re caught in a similar scandal.
