The NBA’s decision to ban Jontay Porter for life has resulted in the legal prosecution of multiple individuals who were allegedly pressuring Porter to leave games prematurely. Among those facing criminal charges are Long Phi “Bruce” Pham, Timothy McCormack, and Mahmud Mollah, as reported by David Payne Purdum of ESPN.com.
According to reports, Mollah is accused of placing an $80,000 bet on Porter not reaching certain statistical benchmarks in a game against the Sacramento Kings on March 20. When Porter exited the game early, Mollah won $1.12 million. The defendants are accused of manipulating Porter to leave games early in order to settle gambling debts.
While it is challenging for one player to directly impact the outcome of bets on a team, individual player prop bets offer a loophole for fixing the system. By faking an illness or injury, players can help the under bettors win. This practice undermines the integrity of the game and goes against fair play in professional sports.
This scandal has the potential to cause a major upheaval in the league if it were to occur in other sports such as NFL. The NBA’s actions against Porter and those involved highlight the importance of maintaining the integrity of the game and upholding fair play in professional sports.
