Adam Silver first words on the NBA gambling investigation in the tunnel at MSG

Watch Adam Silver first words on the NBA gambling investigation in the tunnel at MSG - New York Post on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Federal indictments were announced involving current player Terry Rozier and current head coach Chauncey Phillips.

00:06What was your initial reaction and what have the last 36 hours been like for you?

00:11My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed.

00:15There's nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition.

00:22And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.

00:26And Terry Rozier was allowed to keep playing after an NBA investigation ruled that there was no NBA rules violated.

00:35What do you make of that decision now amid the FBI's allegations against him?

00:41So what happened was because bets were placed through legalized legal betting companies,

00:48they picked up aberrational behavior around a particular game in March of 23.

00:54And so that was brought to our attention by the regulators and the betting companies.

01:01We then looked into that situation and were very transparent about it.

01:05And while there was that aberrational betting, we frankly couldn't find anything.

01:11Terry at the time cooperated. He gave the league office his phone.

01:15He sat down for an interview.

01:16And we ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence, despite that aberrational behavior, to move forward.

01:24We then worked directly with the law enforcement, as they said, at the press conference that the league has been cooperating.

01:31And so that was obviously over two years ago.

01:33So the federal government has subpoena power, can threaten to put people in jail, can do all kinds of things that a league office can't do.

01:42So we've been working with them since then.

01:44And of course, what they announced yesterday was an indictment.

01:47So two and a half years later, he still hasn't been convicted of anything, in fairness to Terry.

01:52Obviously, it doesn't look good, but he's now been put on administrative leave.

01:58And so, you know, there's a balance here of protecting people's rights and investigating.

02:04And as I said, we've been working with the government, and they have extraordinary powers that a league office doesn't have.