Normal view

Today — 17 December 2025Main stream

NBA will look into granting relief to Miami Heat over Terry Rozier, commissioner says

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA is not sure how long the various investigations and legal processes surrounding gambling charges faced by Miami guard Terry Rozier, Portland coach and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Chauncey Billups and others will take to be completed, Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday.

But the league will look into the possibility of giving Miami some sort of “satisfactory relief,” Silver added, though he stopped short of saying such a move would be possible.

“This is an unprecedented situation,” Silver said.

It's a multi-layered issue for the league and the Heat, given that Rozier's $26.6 million salary takes up about 17% of the team's cap space — and that the team still owes Charlotte a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028 to satisfy the terms of the trade that brought Rozier to Miami.

Rozier pleaded not guilty earlier this month to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges stemming from accusations that he helped some friends win bets that revolved around his statistical performance in a game played in March 2023, when he was with Charlotte. Rozier is free on $3 million bond and isn’t expected back in court until March, and he remains on unpaid leave from the Heat.

Prosecutors say Rozier informed the bettors that he intended to leave the game against the New Orleans Pelicans early with a supposed injury, allowing gamblers to place wagers earning them tens of thousands of dollars. Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds of the game before leaving, citing a foot issue. He did not play again that season and was subsequently traded to the Heat.

Rozier isn’t receiving his pay, but his salary is still on the Heat's books and is being sent to an interest-bearing account pending resolution of his case or some other agreement.

“We're going to try to work something through, work this out with them,” Silver said. “But there’s no obvious solution here. I would just say that there’s no doubt at the moment they have a player that can't perform services for them. ... Obviously, he hasn’t been convicted of anything yet either — but this is an unfortunate circumstance. Sometimes there’s these unique events and maybe sometimes they require a unique solution.”

Billups also pleaded not guilty last month to charges related to a separate scheme to fix high-stakes, Mafia-backed poker games. Rozier, Billups and former NBA guard Damon Jones were among more than 30 people — including several Mafia figures — arrested in October as part of a sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to pro sports.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Yesterday — 16 December 2025Main stream

Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track owes Josh Kerr $218,000, court papers reveal

Josh Kerr triumphed at the Philadelphia leg of Grand Slam Track (Getty Images)

Scottish middle-distance runner Josh Kerr is among the biggest creditors owed by Grand Slam Track after the league filed for bankruptcy last week, with the Briton owed $218,750.

Documents filed to the bankruptcy court in Delaware on Monday included a list of the 20 creditors with the largest unsecured claims, with Kerr and six other athletics stars collectively owed millions by GST.

American sprint star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is owed $356,250, with compatriots Gabby Thomas – the Olympic 200m champion – and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden – who won gold in the 100m and 200m at this year’s World Championships – still owed $249,375 and $190,625 respectively. Each athlete won individual events as well as one or more of the Slams, with Kerr having won the Miami Slam and the 1500m race in Miami, with a total prize of $150,000 across those two meets alone.

One broadcast company is owed over $3m, with the total amount owed to the top 20 creditors nearing $10m. The documents show that there are between 200 and 999 creditors, with the total amount owed between $10m and $50m.

GST, which was founded and launched by multiple Olympic champion Michael Johnson in 2024, filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court last week following months of financial issues.

The league’s first event had taken place in Kingston, Jamaica in April of this year, though a major financial backer withdrew its support after the event, with attendance having been poor.

Subsequent meets took place in Miami and Philadelphia, with the latter cut from three days to two, but the final event of the season, which was scheduled for Los Angeles in June, was cancelled.

Johnson later admitted that GST could not afford to pay its athletes, despite the league having promised up to $12.6m in prize money.

The Chapter 11 filing gives GST the chance to reorganise and “stabilise its finances” rather than go through liquidation, with a statement from GST explaining that the league also wants to use the process to “ implement a more efficient cost and operating model, and position GST for long-term success”.

❌
❌