And the commissioner finally speaks. The federal gambling investigation into the NBA puts Adam Silver in particular in the firing line. Conspiracies and allegations are getting mixed up and fans want clarity from him. The official responses are pouring in on Terry Rozier’s arrest during this firestorm. While the Miami Heat expressed their support to the guard, Silver set the record straight on him.

After what the Internet is dubbing NBA’s ‘Turbulent Thursday’ or ‘Terrible Thursday,’ Adam Silver appeared on Amazon Prime after the Celtics-Knicks game. He told Amazon’s Cassidy Hubbarth that he “deeply disturbed” by the news.

She then pressed on the more serious question. “Terry Rozier was allowed to keep playing after an NBA investigation ruled that there were no NBA rules violated. What do you make of that decision now amid the FBI’s allegations against him?”

She’s referring to the primary case against Rozier when he left a 2023 game due to a foot injury. The NBA investigated him earlier this year, which is a fact. The rumors begin with some alleging the NBA ‘quietly’ pulled him out of games after the illegal betting was flagged. This ties into the larger conspiracy that the league is aware of the illicit activities.

Adam Silver explicitly denied that claim and explained the league’s side on it. “What happened was, because bets were placed through legalized, legal betting companies, they picked up aberrational behavior around a particular game in March of ’23. And so that was brought to our attention by the regulators and the betting companies. We then looked into that situation and were very transparent about it. And while there was that aberrational betting, we frankly couldn’t find anything.”

He also confirmed that they had directly investigated Terry Rozier but the evidence came up short. “Terry at the time cooperated. He gave the league office his phone. He sat down for an interview, and we ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence despite that aberrational behavior to move forward.”

While they couldn’t find anything against Rozier, this didn’t close the investigation. Silver stated that they took the matter to law enforcement. The full force of federal authority was able to conduct a much deeper investigation before taking it to indictment.

The Terry Rozier decision is still pending

Among the 30+ arrests made on Thursday, Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier and Trail Blazers coach, Chauncey Billups stand out. Rozier is facing charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He allegedly conspired with his partners to win prop bets’

The supposed coup de grce was a game in March 2023 during his time with the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier’s alleged partners supposed had $200,000 on the under of his performance. He made an early exit due to a foot injury less than ten minutes into the game. He wouldn’t play for the rest of the season due to his injury which is fueling rumors that it was an NBA cover-up.

Why it’s bad? Sports leagues shouldn’t be covering up player suspensions. It makes it worse when the Heat traded Kyle Lowry for Rozier. A team would ideally deserve to know if the player they’re acuiring is under investigation. However, Rozier’s absence was justified by the league who claimed that MRI scans confirmed his injury.

“Any assertion that the NBA had anything to do with Terry Rozier not playing games following his departure from the game on March 23, 2023, is categorically false,” an NBA spokesperson, not Adam Silver, said. “Per team doctors, Rozier had a real foot injury confirmed with an MRI.”

When the NBA investigated and found sufficient evidence on Jontay Porter, he was not allowed to play before his permanent ban from the league. Rozier was instead allowed to sign with the Heat and keep playing. A few months ago, he was being congratulated for coming out of the other side of the internal investigation. That changed with the indictment.

“What they announced yesterday was an indictment. So two and a half years later, he still hasn’t been convicted of anything. In fairness to Terry, obviously it doesn’t look good, but he’s now been put on administrative leave. And so, you know, there’s a balance here of protecting people’s rights and investigating. And as I said, we’ve been working with the government, and they have extraordinary powers that a legal office doesn’t have,” Adam Silver said.

The allegations that the NBA ‘pulled’ Rozier quietly were put forth by Brian Windhorst on Thursday. A day later, he’s calling his own claims a conspiracy theory. What’s true, as the commisioner said, will be revealed by the FBI investigation.

Meanwhile, the NBA placed Rozier on paid leave and he was arraigned Thursday. He was released from custody pretty soon after putting up his $6 million Florida home as bond.