On Thursday morning, the FBI announced it had made multiple arrests of current and former NBA stars in an illegal gambling and sports betting sting. The news drew plenty of coverage from the cable news realm.
Current player Terry Rozier, head coach of the Portland Trailblazers, Chaunce Billups, and former NBA star Damon Jones were arrested this morning in connection with illegal gambling.
According to the FBI, more than 30 people were arrested, including members of the Sicilian mafia, for two separate illegal activities.
Rozier is accused of providing information to sports bettors to enhance their chances of winning wagers placed on his specific performance.
Billups, meanwhile, is accused of working with mafia members to lure people to high-stakes poker games, where the organized crime unit used cameras and X-ray technology to see the cards of the opposition, ensuring that the mafia would win large sums of money that it subsequently laundered through cryptocurrency purchases.
On Fox News, the network broke into regular programming to cover the news. Correspondent Nate Foy was on location in Brooklyn ahead of the 10 AM ET press conference featuring FBI Director Kash Patel.
At the press conference, Patel explained the details of the plot. Fox News aired the remarks, and provided coverage throughout the remainder of the day.
MSNBC responded similarly. The network interrupted Morning Joe to report the news of the arrests. New York Magazine’s Will Leich contributed to the coverage, as did MSNBC contributors Lisa Rubin, Mark Sanita, and sports content creator Jason Page.
It, like Fox News, carried portions of Patel’s press conference live.
CNN also went into breaking news coverage as word of the arrests circulated during the 9 AM ET hour. CNN correspondent Kara Scannell joined the network’s morning show to give further details on the news.
USA Today columnist and CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan also joined the network’s coverage to provide context on the NBA’s rules and policies surrounding gambling and sports betting.
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