Gambling puts pressure on athletes
The rapid rise of sports gambling is putting increasing pressure on today’s athletes, Hall of Fame basketball player Carmelo Anthony said Thursday, following bombshell indictments detailing illegal NBA betting.
Speaking to CNBC Sport, the former New York Knicks star said the betting culture “mentally affects” players.
“They may say they don’t care… but they do care because it affects them,” he said.
On Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested separately following investigations into insider betting on basketball games. Anthony was not involved in the case.
The 10-time NBA All-Star, who retired in 2023 and now works as a broadcaster for NBC, said he is concerned about how gambling “changes the narrative of the game.”
“You look at me differently now because you bet on 25 points and I got 22 points. Now I’m losing my skills,” he said.
Anthony spoke to CNBC from Baltimore, Maryland, where he was present for the unveiling. Melo’s House An exhibition at the Enoch Pratt Free Library that will chronicle his career.
Anthony added that he expects the results to come in the wake of the latest allegations.
“There needs to be some consequences for what happened. I’m sure the authorities are investigating this,” he said.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become CNBC’s new parent company, based on Comcast’s planned Versant spinoff.
