SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr can’t recall a time during his playing career when he attended a team meeting where the discussion centered on the temptations of gambling or point-shaving. It was fairly assumed that everyone knew there was a red line between playing and betting.
Now, 30 years later, the landscape has undergone dramatic change. American sports leagues are partnering with the same gambling community they once repelled.
After Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested by the FBI on Thursday on charges related to gambling, Kerr, during his news conference before Warriors-Nuggets tipoff, did not address their specific cases but how things have changed.
And not for the better.
“Our players face a lot of the wrath of fans,” Kerr said. “I know. I’ve talked to our guys. Our guys get nasty social media posts from people who have bet on games. That’s the thing that I don’t like about this the most. Our players should not have to deal with that.
“But they do it. Probably would anyway, even if we didn’t have a partnership with these companies. It’s just kind of the modern life, social media, everyone having access to everyone else. Yeah, it’s rough. I feel bad for our guys.”
Coaches also must deal with backlash for their substitution patterns and the number of minutes allotted for certain players.
“I’ve gotten emails in the past from people I don’t know, saying, ‘Hey, thanks a lot. I had money on the game tonight. You screwed up by subbing so and so in, or something like that. I’ve gotten those too. It’s weird.”
The prevalence of sites like FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics and many others has exposed the underside of wagering and its effect on fans and, by extension, players and coaches. It has burrowed its way into the NBA, the NFL and MLB.
Which is why each team gets the gambling talk. Golden State legal counsel Woodie Dixon Jr. met with all the players a few days ago, detailing the dos and don’ts related to the game.
“Every team in the league does this, goes through bulletin points of everything that is not allowed this issue,” Kerr said. “So, our players are well aware. All players are well aware of what they’re allowed to do.”
The validity of the charges is being disputed by Billups and Rozier. Rozier was previously investigated by the NBA, which concluded there was no basis to proceed. The other element here is that the FBI itself has taken a credibility hit under new director Kash Patel.
The marriage of sports and gambling comes with elevated risk. It’s a given. There is a valid reason pro sports leagues long resisted holding hands with that world.
They are now, tightly, because money talks.
No matter how the Billups and Rozier cases are adjudicated – and there have been others, e.g., Johntay Porter – suspicion has entered the room. And it’s much louder than it was a few days ago.