Adam Silver calls player gambling a “cardinal sin” as the league continues its investigation into Jontay Porter

The NBA remained largely silent as it investigated Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for irregularities involving prop betting for his stats, but on Wednesday commissioner Adam Silver followed up a session in a question-and-answer session with reporters of the Board of Governors responded to the allegations. Silver called Porter was accused of a “cardinal sin” in basketball and admitted that a possible disciplinary measure for engaging in gambling could be to “ban him from the game.”

“In my opinion there is nothing more serious in this league when it comes to gambling and betting on our games and that is direct player involvement. “So the investigation is ongoing, but the consequences could be very serious,” Silver said said.

The investigation focuses on two games in which Porter attended. There were an unusually high number of bets on Porter's prop bets in both games. In particular, bettors made huge profits when betting on a series of prop bets based on Porter's statistics. In both cases, Porter left the games early. In one instance, the Raptors cited an eye injury as the reason for his absence. In the other case it was illness. CBS Sports covered the details of the Porter allegations in more detail Here.

Porter has not played in a game since March 22, which occurred two days after the second of two games the NBA is reportedly investigating. The NBA has not punished a player for gambling-related issues since 1966, although the league appeared to be dealing with the high-profile FBI investigation that resulted in former referee Tim Donaghy receiving a 15-month prison sentence due to his own involvement in the gambling world.

Gambling scandals are becoming more and more common in professional sports. The NFL has suspended several players for betting in recent years as Major League Baseball deals with the fallout from a scandal involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreterIppe Mizuhara.

There's no telling how long the Porter investigation will take, but given the risks at stake here, the league will certainly be as thorough as possible. The integrity of the sport is perhaps the most important factor in the health of the NBA. The moment fans no longer trust the legitimacy of the product is the moment business begins to decline. If Porter is found guilty of illegal activity, the NBA appears poised to permanently kick him out of the league.

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