What Terry Rozier’s court plea means for the Miami Heat

In a dramatic courtroom appearance Monday in Brooklyn, Terry Rozier, guard for Miami Heat, entered a plea of “not guilty” to federal charges accusing him of facilitating illegal sports betting tied to his performance on the court.

The charges, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, stem from allegations he helped a network of gamblers exploit inside information about his playing time.

Federal prosecutors allege that in a March 2023 game, when Rozier was with the Charlotte Hornets, he told a friend he planned to exit the contest early due to a supposed foot injury.

That information, they say, was used to place substantial bets on him underperforming. He left the game after just 9 minutes and 36 seconds, a move prosecutors say triggered bets that ultimately paid out.

Reports on the brief arraignment say that Rozier answered only the judge’s questions with “yes” or “no,” saying nothing further. He was subsequently released on a $3 million bond, secured by his Florida home and another property.

As conditions of his release, the court barred him from gambling, owning firearms, contacting co-defendants or witnesses, and required him to surrender his passport.

For now, Rozier remains on unpaid leave from the Heat, and the league has initiated a separate arbitration process. Regardless of the legal outcome, the scandal has sent shockwaves through the basketball world, raising urgent questions about league-wide vulnerabilities and the integrity of the sport as a whole.

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The case is part of a sweeping federal crackdown that has already resulted in more than 30 arrests and given the massive trove of evidence, more than 1,000 documents and over 55 gigabytes of data, the court set a follow-up hearing for March 3.

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