The NBA has denied that they were responsible for Terry Rozier ending his season following a March 23, 2023 game with the Charlotte Hornets in which he exited after just 10 minutes. The game in question is central to his arrest due to a federal investigation about gambling.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst asserted that Rozier faked the injury and that he missed the final eight games of the season due to the NBA’s involvement with a shadow suspension.
“The sportsbooks caught it. They told the NBA right away. And guess what? The NBA… Rozier didn’t play the rest of the season. And he had faked the injury, so it wasn’t because of the injury. The NBA pulled him. They pulled Jontay Porter too. They flagged Jontay Porter and pulled Jontay Porter,” Windhorst said on The Rich Eisen Show.
“Any assertion that the NBA had anything to do with Terry Rozier not playing games following his departure from the game on March 23, 2023, is categorically false,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said. “Per team doctors, Rozier had a real foot injury confirmed with an MRI.”
Windhorst clarified his comments via email on Friday.
“The sportsbooks and the NBA’s integrity monitoring partners flagged the irregular betting on Rozier and the league was aware of the possible issue very quickly. He then did not play for the rest of the season,” Windhorst wrote. “In the case of Jontay Porter the following season, the NBA did pull him after a second incident of suspicious wagering was flagged by the integrity monitors, which I mentioned. The cases were similar but slightly different, the league explained.”
Windhorst also said he never implied a conspiracy from the NBA.
“On Eisen, I said the NBA would have to explain at some point what happened that allowed Rozier to keep playing, never did I say or imply there was a conspiracy. I subsequently had that conversation with the league about their process. On TV this morning, I reported the league’s explanation for why they weren’t able to corroborate the charges against Rozier and allowed him to play.
“In conjunction, I also questioned why there was a belief there was a conspiracy. The league investigated Rozier, which was public, and then decided to allow him to continue to play, which was public. It is not a good look for the NBA that he was allowed to play but I think that underscores their limited investigative power not a conspiracy, which implies something wholly different.”
The Miami Heat acquired Rozier from the Hornets at the 2024 trade deadline. Rozier is now on indefinite leave and is on an expiring contract.