As we watch the lefties violently march around our city streets and assault ICE agents, as we grasp that they really do think that men can be women, and as we continue to shake our heads as their Trump Derangement Syndrome reaches epic proportions a new confrontation with a story that cuts to the heart of our national character has emerged. The FBI has announced the arrest of NBA Hall of Famer and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, alongside Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, in connection with a sprawling illegal gambling operation tied to none other than La Cosa Nostra, the Genovese, Gambino, and Bonanno crime families. Yes, you heard that right. Organized crime, woven into the fabric of professional sports.
Sure, we’ve seen this kind of thing before. The Black Sox scandal that has kept Joe Jackson out of the Hall of Fame comes to mind. But with the rise of gambling, especially sports gambling of late, did we really think that the envelope wasn’t going to be pushed in this manner?
According to FBI Director Kash Patel, this is a “historic arrest” that exposes a criminal enterprise stretching from the hardwood to the underworld. Forty individuals have been taken into custody. The NBA, once a symbol of American athletic excellence, now finds itself entangled in a web of corruption that threatens the integrity of the game and the trust of the people.
Billups, a five-time All-Star and NBA champion, was taken into custody for his role in illegal poker games. Yet, astonishingly, he still stood on the sidelines coaching his team against the Timberwolves. Rozier, meanwhile, was absent from the Heat’s game against Orlando, his arrest cloaked behind a hamstring injury. Ironic, considering he faked an ankle injury during one of the gambling scams where he pulled himself out of a game early so that a bunch of people could bet the under regarding his game-play, and then count the winnings at his house with his cut.
While I hear that the NBA is cooperating, we have heard no official statements from the teams. No accountability. Just silence.
Realize, this isn’t just about basketball. It’s about the erosion of virtue in our institutions. It’s about the slow bleed of honor from the veins of our republic. When sports icons become pawns in criminal syndicates, when multimillion-dollar franchises turn a blind eye, we must ask: where is the moral backbone of this country?
We are not spectators in this republic, we are its stewards. Only a virtuous people, after all, can truly understand freedom and appreciate something as precious as our Constitution. Fortunately, we have the Trump administration on guard shining a light on the shadows.
