The FBI made several arrests on Thursday in connection with an alleged illegal NBA gambling ring, and Stephen A. Smith believes U.S. President Donald Trump was behind the latest development.<\/p>\n
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is\u00a0facing charges related to rigged high-stakes poker games<\/a> that were organized with the help of Mafia crime families. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was\u00a0arrested for his alleged involvement<\/a>\u00a0in \u201ca scheme to defraud by betting on inside, non-public information about NBA athletes and teams\u201d between December 2022 and December 2024. Former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones has been\u00a0charged in both cases<\/a>.<\/p>\n Smith discussed the arrests during Thursday morning\u2019s edition of \u201cFirst Take\u201d on ESPN. He suggested Trump was motivated to pursue the charges in part because of the recent protests against the president\u2019s policies. Smith predicted Trump could go after the WNBA next.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBecause when you\u2019ve got all of these protests that have been going out there and people have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming. He\u2019s coming, and I\u2019ve been saying it for a long time. To me, this is the latest nugget of evidence that we\u2019re talking about right here.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not to question the legitimacy of the case. We don\u2019t know. We\u2019re all sitting up here and saying we don\u2019t know. But anybody that has been around him, anybody that has talked to him, anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what\u2019s going on today.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith cited the fact that the director of the FBI, Kash Patel, led Thursday\u2019s press conference. The longtime analyst thinks Trump is sending a warning that he is going to go scorched earth on everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cIn his eyes, folks tried to throw him in jail. In his eyes, he\u2019s innocent and they tried to put me behind bars, I\u2019m getting everybody. He\u2019s not playing,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n “Trump is coming. He’s coming\u2026Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what’s going on today\u2026this is just the tip of the iceberg” \u2013 Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com\/gngy9qbPIG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n The biggest flaw with Smith\u2019s logic is that Thursday\u2019s arrests stemmed from an FBI investigation that spanned years. Joe Biden was in office when former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life and federally charged<\/a> for his role in an illegal gambling scheme. Trump took office for his second term in January, and the investigations were ongoing well before that.<\/p>\n Smith has gotten more and more into politics since he signed his latest mega-deal with ESPN<\/a>. It is very convenient for him to try to mesh politics with the NBA gambling scandal.<\/p>\n