DeMarcus Cousins speaks out after shocking brawl costs him season
The four-time NBA All-Star, who played for the Mets de Guaynabo in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league, shared a message on his Instagram Story after he was suspended for the rest of the season and his team terminated his contract Tuesday.
'I want to apologize to the fans of Puerto Rico for my actions,' Cousins wrote including a blue heart emoji. 'I have so much love and respect for the island.'
4 DeMarcus Cousins apologized after he brawled with multiple spectators during Monday's game in the Puerto Rican professional basketball league.
Instagram/Demarcus Cousins
During a road game Monday, Cousins made an obscene gesture at a fan who was sitting courtside, grabbing his crotch and exchanging words.
Cousins, who played 11 NBA seasons for several teams, grabbed the fan's arm as the man appeared to give him the double bird.
As things escalated, one of Cousins' teammates stepped in between the two.
The 34-year-old big man received his second technical and was ejected from the game.
4 DeMarcus Cousins apologized to Puerto Rico fans after he brawled with multiple spectators during Monday's game in the Puerto Rican professional basketball league.
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Cousins continued to brawl with other fans, making contact with at least one while on his way to the locker room.
Some threw drinks at Cousins as he had to be held back.
4 DeMarcus Cousins apologized to Puerto Rico fans after he brawled with multiple spectators during Monday's game in the Puerto Rican professional basketball league.
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Cousins received a $4,250 fine, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league announced Tuesday, adding that he could face an additional one of $5,750.
The Mets were defeated by the Vaqueros de Bayamon, 101-92, at Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez.
Cousins had 11 points and seven rebounds before he was ejected.
4 DeMarcus Cousins #15 of Taiwan Beer Leopards reacts during the T1 League game between Tainan TSG Ghost Hawks and Taiwan Beer Leopards at Taoyuan City Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Getty Images
'As an organization, we strongly condemn any form of violence or provocation, whether on or off the field. Safety, respect, and sportsmanship are non-negotiable values for this franchise,' the Mets said in a release.
In his second season with the Mets, Cousins averaged 18.2 points per game with nine rebounds.
He helped them reach the league semifinals in 2023.
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USA Today
30 minutes ago
- USA Today
As Mets fight for life in NL playoff race, can rookies pitchers bail them out?
WASHINGTON — Anointing Nolan McLean the savior of their season is the last thing the New York Mets want to do. After all, for as much energy and magic McLean provided in winning his major league debut at Citi Field on Aug. 16, he's just a 24-year-old barely a year removed from putting the bat down for good and focusing full-time on pitching. 'We want him to be himself. We don't want to add any extra pressure,' says manager Carlos Mendoza of McLean, who struck out eight in 5 ⅔ scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners. 'We want him to continue to go out there and give us a chance to win.' Yet McLean's assimilation will take on a heavier tone if the Mets' veteran arms aren't able to turn around a second half where hitting a collective wall has dented their NL East title hopes and imperiled their playoff outlook. McLean's gem stopped a slide in which the Mets lost 14 of 17 games, part of a two-month pattern in which their starting pitchers' fortunes have virtually flipped. Oh, Mets starters rank seventh in the majors in ERA (3.71), but due to a variety of factors, are just 27th in innings pitched. And their slide in output and quality coincided with the Mets' struggle. They held a 5 ½-game lead in the East on June 12 yet thereafter began the first of two seven-game losing streaks. And then Griffin Canning, a fill-in turned savior who posted a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts, tore his left Achilles June 26. Clay Holmes, returning to a starting role after six years in the bullpen, was brilliant in his first 16 starts, the Mets winning 11 of them as he averaged nearly six innings a start with a 2.97 ERA. But finishing this marathon has proven challenging: Holmes is averaging less than five innings in his last nine starts, the Mets losing five of them, as he's posted a 5.02 ERA and his strikeout-walk ratio has shriveled to 1.66. Sean Manaea? An oblique strain and loose bodies in his elbow delayed his debut until July 13, but the Mets have lost six of his seven starts as he's thrown no more than 86 pitches. Frankie Montas has been relegated to long relief. Kodai Senga hasn't made it past five innings in eight of his 19 outings. And yet here the Mets are, 67-58, a discouraging 5½ games behind the Phillies yet holding a tenuous grip on a wild card spot, a fate they learned last year could lead to the NL Championship Series. Hanging on may depend on a kid or two bailing them out. From three-way player to one McLean's 6-2, 214-pound frame is straight from central casting for a pitcher it belies the fact he's an absolute freak athlete. Forget two-way player: McLean was a three-way guy when he reported to Oklahoma State, with designs on pitching, hitting and playing quarterback for the Cowboys. Yet it was apparent after his freshman year that he had a surefire future on the diamond. He hit 19 homers as a sophomore and had OPS marks of .936, .992 and .911 in three seasons as a Cowboy. On the mound, he pitched just 57 innings but was selected in the third round by Baltimore as a draft-eligible sophomore. The Mets bested that, drafting him in the second round in 2023 as a two-way player, figuring nature would take its course. Come last summer at Class AA Binghamton, McLean was averaging a strikeout an inning as a pitcher – and a punchout in 52% of his plate appearances as a hitter. For the Mets, nature was healing and McLean's decision was easy. 'I've always been able to throw the ball. It's just that last year, when I was hitting still, I was getting tired pretty early,' McLean tells USA TODAY Sports. 'And as a starting pitcher, you want to get deep into ballgames. That was something I really wanted to get better at. 'I felt like the only way for me to do that was to have my legs and my full body underneath me which, luckily, once I set the bat down, I was able to get that second wind later in the year last year and carry it into this year.' Indeed, McLean was a different cat when he returned to Binghamton, acing AA ball with a 1.37 ERA in five starts and getting summoned upstate to Syracuse, one stop shy of Queens. He was even a little more dominant at Syracuse, punching out 10 batters an inning and posting a 1.10 WHIP, maintaining his stuff through 16 appearances. Blessed from a young age with the ability to spin the baseball, McLean threw a curveball that registered 3,511 rpm, more revolutions than any curve measured at the big league level this year. Meanwhile, the Mets were taking on water, their staff incessantly dogged by injuries and poor performance. Veteran Paul Blackburn was designated for assignment, making room for McLean along with 15 friends and family who converged on Queens from North Carolina for his debut. 'It was special, just getting to see them after the game, they'd known how hard I worked to get to that point in my life,' says McLean, 'Being able to see them at a pretty emotional point was pretty awesome to be a part of.' It seemed almost equally emotional for Mets fans. They roared in approval when the video board caught McLean in the dugout on a couple of occasions, after his work was completed. Their hunger for help has probably not been sated. Mets fans are keeping a close eye on the progress of Jonah Tong, who was promoted from Class AA to AAA last week and, pitching at Syracuse the same day McLean threw in Queens, posted an almost identical line: 5 ⅔ shutout innings, with eight strikeouts. While it would certainly be a rush job to summon Tong before season's end, the club also has invested around $420 million in payroll this season, including projected luxury tax penalties. There will be no shorts taken to ensure a playoff berth in this, the first year of Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract. 'The team's ready for it' Of course, the best way to ensure October baseball would be for the Mets' current starters to turn it around. To that end, All-Star lefty David Peterson, coming off the worst start of his season, dominated the Washington Nationals on Aug. 19. After blowing a big lead and giving up six runs in 3 ⅓ innings to Atlanta, Peterson took a shutout into the eighth inning and dominated the Nationals in an 8-1 victory. With 37 games left, they're still up on Cincinnati for the last wild-card berth. Peterson's gem kicked off a stretch of 16 games in 16 days where it behooves the starters to get deep – not just to preserve a bullpen stretched beyond belief but stabilize this season. 'The team's ready for it. We know how to handle it,' says Peterson, who completed at least seven innings for the sixth time this season. 'It's really important where every guy goes out there and we're trying to give the team a chance to win and go as deep as they can. 'Guys work their butt off and I'm confident we'll keep the momentum rolling.' Mendoza couldn't suppress a grin pondering what Peterson's eight innings and a blowout win meant to a side that saw 10 of its past 15 games decided by three runs or less. 'For him to go eight, it was really good. Solid, in complete control, and it was good to see, after his last outing, to see him bounce back that way,' says Mendoza. 'Haven't played a game like that in a while. 'We're going to need those guys. Especially in this stretch.' The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
Ranking NBA 2025 offseason for every team Nos. 20-11: Where do Knicks, Sixers, Bulls fall?
After going through the bottom-10 teams in the first part of my annual recap of every NBA team's offseason, we arrive at the 10 in the middle. The top 10 will be revealed Thursday. Again, for the uninitiated: These aren't power rankings. They're just an opinion of how well each team did, or didn't, improve during the offseason. Most importantly: • If your team is ranked in the top 10, it doesn't mean I love your team. • If your team is ranked in the bottom 10, it doesn't mean I hate your team. Advertisement The one big question: Is the team better now than at the end of last season? The ranking reflects the belief on whether, and how much, that is so. In the meantime, we continue with teams 20-11. Most of these teams made significant changes to their roster, both through the draft and trades, and they either fit the direction in which the team was already going or were a welcome corrective to a philosophy that wasn't working. David Aldridge's 2025 offseason rankings: Nos. 30-21 2024-25 record: 49-33; lost in Western Conference finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 4-1 Added: C Joan Beringer (first round, 17th pick); C Rocco Zikarsky (draft rights acquired from Lakers via Bulls, two-way); F Enrique Freeman (two-way); Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore approved as co-owners Lost: F Nickeil Alexander-Walker (signed with Hawks); C Luka Garza (signed with Celtics); F/C Rasheer Fleming (draft rights traded to Suns); C Jesse Edwards (waived) Retained: F Julius Randle (three years, $100M); F/C Naz Reid (five years, $125M); F Joe Ingles (one year, $3.6M) Extended: None Returning from injury: None The skinny: Another team whose success forced it to make tough second apron calls. In Minnesota's case, it couldn't bring back all of Reid, Randle and Alexander-Walker in free agency, so the Wolves are betting that second-year man Terrence Shannon Jr. can take up some of the slack from NAW's departure. Interesting that the Wolves drafted and traded for multiple bigs in the draft. Rudy Gobert is still pretty good most nights — ask the Lakers about Game 5 of their series with Minny — but he's starting to slow some at 33, and he's expensive, and …well, they got multiple bigs out of the draft. Do what you will with that information. 2024-25 record: 36-46; did not make playoffs Advertisement Added: G Damian Lillard (three years, $42M); Jrue Holiday (acquired from Celtics); G Blake Wesley (one year, $2.3M); C Yang Hansen (draft rights acquired from Grizzlies); G Caleb Love (two-way); G Sean Pedulla (Exhibit 10); F Andrew Carr (Exhibit 10); investment group led by Tom Dundon in agreement to purchase Trail Blazers Lost: G Anfernee Simons (traded to Celtics); C Deandre Ayton (waived after contract buyout via stretch provision) Retained: None Returning from injury: C Robert Williams III (arthroscopic surgery, left knee) The skinny: Whether or not Lillard, who tore his Achilles in April, plays a second this season for the Blazers doesn't matter; this is a win-win, with Lillard again being able to mentor Scoot Henderson while getting a year to rehab in familiar environs. Portland thinks Yang has a chance to be a star. But most everyone else had a second-round grade on him pre-draft. And, the Blazers had plenty of big-man depth already in Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III and Duop Reath. Hey, go for Yang if you believe in him. But he had better pan out. Similarly, the Blazers need Holiday to help lift them to playoff level. It better work, considering they gave up the (nine years) younger Simons in the exchange. 2024-25 record: 39-43; lost in Play-In round Added: F Isaac Okoro (acquired from Cavaliers); F Noa Essengue (first round, 12th pick); C Lachlan Olbrich (two-way); F Emanuel Miller (two-way); G Yuki Kawamura (two-way); G Caleb Grill (Exhibit 10); G Wooga Poplar (Exhibit 10) Lost: G Lonzo Ball (traded to Cavaliers); C Rocco Zikarsky (draft rights traded to Timberwolves); G Jahmir Young (waived) Retained: G Tre Jones (three years, $24M) Extended: Coach Billy Donovan Returning from injury: G Ayo Dosunmu (left shoulder subluxation); Jones (left foot sprain) Advertisement The skinny: The Bulls aren't getting any points for speed, but they continued their methodical buildup by drafting Essengue, who could team up nicely with last year's first-round pick, Matas Buzelis, and form a promising young forward tandem. Coby White's big jump the last two years made Ball expendable, so getting more length and defensive versatility in Okoro for him was a decent return. Getting Josh Giddey extended before camp is the next expected step. But at some point, Chicago is going to have to be more intentional in making bigger moves that can get it out of Play-In round hell. Unless it's cool staying in Play-In round hell. 2024-25 record: 40-42; lost in Play-In round Added: G Dennis Schröder (three years, $45M); F Dario Šarić (acquired from Denver); F Doug McDermott (one year, $3.6M); F Drew Eubanks (one year, $3.1M); F Nique Clifford (draft rights acquired from Thunder); C Maxime Raynaud (second round, 42nd pick); G Daeqwon Plowden (two-way); G Isaiah Stephens (two-way); C Dylan Cardwell (two-way); F Pat McCaffery (Exhibit 10); G Isaac Nogueś Gonzalez (Exhibit 10); 2029 second-round pick (acquired from Pistons); 2029 second-round pick (acquired from Pistons) Lost: C Jonas Valančiūnas (traded to Nuggets); F Jake LaRavia (signed with Lakers); 2027 first-round pick (traded to Thunder); 2026 second-round pick (traded to Pistons) Retained: F Keon Ellis (team exercised $2.3M option for 2025-26); C Isaac Jones (team exercised $1.9 option for 2025-26) Extended: None Returning from injury: G Malik Monk (left calf strain) The skinny: Don't love the JV-Šarić swap. Yes, you save a little money (and maybe that's how Sac could afford Schröder), but you're still losing Valančiūnas's value as one of the better backup centers in the league. Schröder has been solid in most of his non-Warriors stops over the years; his toughness should help. And Sacramento did well in the draft, considering its positioning; coming away with two solid rotational pieces in Clifford and Raynaud was quality work from new GM Scott Perry and his front office. If Sac manages to snag Jonathan Kuminga from the Warriors after this is published, I'll revise the offseason … upward. Advertisement 2024-25 record: 24-58; did not make playoffs Added: F Trendon Watford (two years, $5.3M); G V.J. Edgecombe (first round, third pick); F Johni Broome (second round, 35th pick); G Hunter Sallis (two-way); F Dominick Barlow (two-way); F Jabari Walker (two-way); F/C Igor Miličić Jr. (Exhibit 10); F Izan Almanza (Exhibit 10) Lost: F Guerschon Yabusele (signed with Knicks); G Ricky Council IV (waived); F Alex Reese (waived) Retained: F Kelly Oubre (player option, $8.4M); G Eric Gordon (one year, $6.3M); C Andre Drummond (player option, $5M); G Kyle Lowry (one year, $3.6M); G Justin Edwards (three years, $7.1M) Extended: None Returning from injury: C Joel Embiid (arthroscopic surgery, left knee); F Paul George (left adductor, left knee injuries); G Tyrese Maxey (sprained right finger); G Jared McCain (torn meniscus, left knee) The skinny: You can definitely see a post-Embiid skeleton coming into shape in Philly, with McCain, Maxey and Edgecombe becoming a potentially wildly fun trio in the coming years. For now, Philly still holds out hope that the 31-year-Embiid can finally recover after getting shut down the last seven weeks of the regular season to have his meniscus repaired. But that's a hope that has fallen on deaf ears in the Philadelphia fan base, who've increasingly tuned the 76ers out. It's hard to see Philly going past next season with the big man as its lodestar if he can't show definitively that he can again handle the load of 60-plus games and get to the playoffs healthy. 2024-25 record: 51-31; lost in Eastern Conference finals to the Indiana Pacers, 4-2 Added: F Guerschon Yabusele (two years, $11.2M); G Jordan Clarkson (one year, $3.6M); F Mohamed Diawara (draft rights acquired from Clippers); F/C Luka Mitrović (draft rights acquired from Clippers); F Dink Pate (Exhibit 10); hired coach Mike Brown Advertisement Lost: G Kobe Sanders (draft rights traded to Clippers); F P.J. Tucker (team declined 2025-26 option); fired coach Tom Thibodeau Retained: C Ariel Hukporti (team exercised $1.96M 2025-26 option) Extended: F Mikal Bridges (four years, $150M) Returning from injury: None The skinny: If the Knicks hadn't fired Thibs after the franchise's most successful season in a quarter-century, they'd be ranked higher. If the Knicks hadn't brought in two quality vets in Yabusele and Clarkson to improve their middling bench, they'd be ranked lower. Brown isn't materially different from Thibodeau defensively; the hope is he can make New York a little more diverse offensively — in a different voice. He is a two-time Coach of the Year with more than 450 wins on his ledger, so it's not a bad bet on management's part. But the expectations after making the conference finals — yet still letting Thibodeau go — are ginormous. 2024-25 record: 48-34; lost in Eastern Conference first round to the Indiana Pacers, 4-1 Added: C Myles Turner (four years, $108M); G Cole Anthony (two years, $5.6M); G Gary Harris (two years, $7.5M); F Bogoljub Marković (second round, 47th pick); F Amir Coffey (one year); G Mark Sears (two-way) Lost: C Brook Lopez (signed with Clippers); G Damian Lillard (buyout via stretch provision); G Pat Connaughton (traded to Hornets); G Vasilije Micić (waived following buyout) Retained: F Bobby Portis (three years, $44M); G Gary Trent, Jr. (two years, $7.4M); F Taurean Prince (two years, $7.1M); G Kevin Porter, Jr. (two years, $10.5M); C Jericho Sims (two years, $5.2M); G Ryan Rollins (three years, $12M); F Chris Livingston (one year, $2.3M) Extended: None Returning from injury: None The skinny: You can't say the Bucks don't turn over every stone to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy. They've burned through much of their future draft stock; they've cycled through coaches; they've traded impact players — and now, they're setting $113 million on fire by waving Lillard and stretching his contract to be able to sign Turner. Turner's a great fit, and he's eight years younger than Lopez. And it was easier cutting Lillard knowing he's likely to miss the season. And Anthony will pick up some of the slack. But, still. No one's ever eaten this much money before. Milwaukee's financial flexibility will be compromised through the rest of the Greek Freak's prime. Advertisement 2024-25 record: 64-18; lost in Eastern Conference semifinals to the Indiana Pacers, 4-1 Added: G Lonzo Ball (acquired from Chicago); F Larry Nance Jr. (one year, $3.6M); G Tyrese Proctor (second round, 49th pick); F Saliou Niang (second round, 58th pick); G Luke Travers (two-way); F Chaney Johnson (Exhibit 10); F Norchad Omier (Exhibit 10) Lost: F Isaac Okoro (traded to Chicago); G Ty Jerome (signed with Grizzlies); F Chuma Okeke (team declined 2025-26 option) Retained: G Sam Merrill (four years, $38M) Extended: GM Koby Altman Returning from injury: G Darius Garland (left toe surgery) The skinny: The Cavs enter a key year of their contending window with their current core. Ball should be both a schematic and rotational fit, finally giving Cleveland a defensive-oriented guard with size to play alongside Garland and/or Donovan Mitchell. But Cleveland still feels a shooter short after losing Jerome and his .437 firepower from deep over the past two seasons. A full year of De'Andre Hunter will help some in that regard, but the Cavs got worked by Indiana in the second round, and 3-point shooting was a key culprit. Cleveland went 57 of 194 from deep against Indiana: .294. Yikes. 2024-25 record: 18-64; did not make playoffs Added: G CJ McCollum (acquired from Pelicans); F Cam Whitmore (acquired from Rockets); G Malaki Branham (acquired from Spurs); G Dillon Jones (acquired from Thunder); C Marvin Bagley III (one year, $2.2M); G Tre Johnson (first round, sixth pick); F Will Riley (draft rights acquired from Jazz); F Jamir Watkins (second round, 43rd pick); G Kadary Richmond (Exhibit 10); G Keshon Gilbert (Exhibit 10); 2026 second-round pick (acquired from Spurs); 2027 second-round pick (acquired from Hornets); 2029 second-round pick (acquired from Thunder); 2031 second-round pick (acquired from Jazz); 2032 second-round pick (acquired from Jazz) Advertisement Lost: G Jordan Poole (traded to Pelicans); F Saddiq Bey (traded to Pelicans); F/C Kelly Olynyk (traded to Spurs); F Colby Jones (traded to Thunder); G Marcus Smart (waived following buyout); C Richaun Holmes (waived); G Blake Wesley (waived after buyout); F Jaylen Martin (waived); G Walter Clayton, Jr. (draft rights traded to Jazz); F Micah Peavy (draft rights traded to Pelicans); 2026 second-round pick (traded to Rockets); 2029 second-round pick (traded to Rockets) Retained: C Tristan Vukčević (two-way); F Anthony Gill (one year, $2.67M) Extended: None Returning from injury: F Bilal Coulibaly (right hamstring); F Corey Kispert (left thumb surgery) The skinny: Washington crapped out in the lottery, but did well by getting the sharpshooting Johnson at No. 6, then acquiring the 21-year-old Whitmore from Houston. Both should immediately leap to the top of the Wizards' offensive chart. Washington thinks Riley has real playmaking potential. McCollum is this year's rinse-and-repeat veteran who'll be in town for a while before moving on. The bump up in offensive talent and improvement from the returning core should mean a few more wins next season, but not enough of them to jeopardize the Wizards' chief goal — holding onto their 2026 first-rounder by being a bottom-eight team. 2024-25 record: 17-65, did not make playoffs Added: F Kevin Love (acquired from Heat); F Kyle Anderson (acquired from Heat); C Jusuf Nurkić (acquired from Hornets); F Georges Niang (acquired from Celtics); F Ace Bailey (first round, fifth pick); G Walter Clayton, Jr. (draft rights acquired from Wizards); G John Tonje (second round, 53rd pick); F Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way); C Steven Crowl (Exhibit 10); G Matthew Murrell (Exhibit 10); 2027 second-round pick (acquired from Clippers); 2027 second-round pick (acquired from Celtics); 2031 second-round pick (acquired from Celtics); hired president of basketball operations Austin Ainge Advertisement Lost: G Collin Sexton (traded to Hornets); F/C John Collins (traded to Clippers); F RJ Luis Jr. (traded to Celtics); G Jordan Clarkson (waived after contract buyout; signed with Knicks); G Johnny Juzang (waived); G Jaden Springer (waived); F Will Riley (draft rights traded to Wizards); 2025 second-round pick (traded to Wizards); 2030 second-round pick (traded to Hornets) 2031 second-round pick (traded to Wizards); 2032 second-round pick (traded to Wizards) Retained: None Extended: None Returning from injury: F Cody Williams (mononucleosis); F Taylor Hendricks (fractured right fibula/dislocated right ankle) The skinny: It's all about Ace. If he's actually cool now with playing in the Wasatch, the Jazz had a great draft. He's a huge talent, and his ceiling is worth taking the big swing. But if this blows up in Utah's face in two or three years … oy. Ainges pere et fils don't blink, though, and they'll do everything needed to surround Bailey with the personal and team support needed for him to get off to a good start. Clayton is just the kind of high-character, winning player the Jazz needed more of in their building. Another lottery season awaits, but there's a Rockets-like path back to relevance through the draft to which Utah appears to be committed. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Ryan Stetz / NBAE, Amanda Loman, Michael Reaves /Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
How the NBA got rid of microbets — and why it could be a blueprint for MLB
Sixteen months after a landmark decision opened the door for legal sports gambling in the United States, a high-ranking NFL executive sat before a House committee in the fall of 2019 to ask for help banishing a particular type of bet that has drawn the ire of sports leagues across the country. Proposition bets, better known as 'prop bets,' allow wagers not on the outcomes of games but on occurrences during them. A wager could be on the result the first play of a game, the first pitch of an inning or whether a player will compile over or under a certain number of rebounds, strikeouts or rushing yards. Leagues, as the NFL indicated that day in front of lawmakers, consider such props troublesome and more easily manipulated because many hinge on the actions of just one player. 'These types of bets are significantly more susceptible to match-fixing efforts and are therefore a source of concern to sports leagues, individual teams and the athletes who compete,' NFL Executive Vice President Jocelyn Moore testified in 2019. (Moore, who has served on the board of directors of DraftKings since 2020, declined to comment.) Had you placed a bet then that prop bets would go away, you would have ended up a loser. When the NFL staged the Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots five months after the NFL's testimony, bettors could still choose among hundreds of prop bets. And six years later, they are still a source of headlines, concern for leagues and income for sportsbooks. In 2024, the NBA banned the Toronto Raptors' Jontay Porter for life for sports betting after an investigation found he had, among other findings, 'limited his own participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game.' In June, reports surfaced that a federal investigation into longtime NBA guard Malik Beasley was related to activity around prop bets. 'I do think some of the bets are problematic," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in July, the month Major League Baseball placed a Cleveland Guardians pitcher on paid leave while it investigated unusually high wagers on the first pitches of innings on June 15 and June 27, ESPN reported. Weeks later, after MLB placed a second Guardians pitcher on leave as part of a sports gambling investigation, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told a group of baseball writers that there were 'certain types of bets that strike me as unnecessary and particularly vulnerable, things where it's one single act [and] doesn't affect the outcome, necessarily.' Whether MLB considers prop bets 'unnecessary' enough to try to have its gambling partners restrict the kinds that are offered is unclear. But if MLB does, it might look to the NBA for a possible blueprint. During the 2024-25 NBA season, the league's gambling partners including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and several others who make up upward of 95% of the legal U.S. sportsbooks agreed to no longer offer 'under' prop bets on players either on 10-day or two-way contracts. (Porter had been on a two-way contract.) Fans could still bet on the sport's big names, like Stephen Curry's 3-pointers or LeBron James' rebounds — but legal sports betting operators in the United States were no longer offering action on the NBA's lowest-paid players. The decision wasn't a mandate handed down solely by the NBA. 'We do not have control over the specific bets that are made on our game,' Silver said in July. Years earlier, the league had sought just that type of power, but it was unsuccessful in persuading state lawmakers to pass legislation that would have given the NBA the right to approve what types of bets could be offered on the league. It also doesn't hold veto rights over what its gambling partners can and cannot offer, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Instead, much like the NFL's attempt in its congressional testimony six years earlier, the NBA had to ask for help. Representatives for DraftKings and FanDuel didn't respond to requests for comment on their back-and-forth with the league that led to the decisions to restrict certain prop bets. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly on sensitive discussions said the league had to rely on making the case to its partners that prop bets on 10-day and two-way players weren't worth the relatively small amount of business they brought in. 'It's a small part of the marketplace,' a person involved in the process said, 'but had outsized integrity risks.' Such dialogue between a league and a sportsbook would have been unthinkable before the Supreme Court's 2018 decision to overturn a federal prohibition on sports gambling freed states to decide whether to permit legal sports betting. (Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia allow sports gambling, and Missouri is set to launch its own operation in December.) Almost overnight, leagues and sportsbooks that once steered clear of one another were now in business together. Sometimes, the back-and-forth between a league and its sportsbook partners has stopped bets from appearing before they are even listed. In 2020, with leagues still months away from making a pandemic comeback, ESPN scrambled to fill programming that included NBA players' competing against one another in video games and even HORSE. As those competitions were announced, the NBA was contacted by betting operators and regulators who wanted to know whether betting odds should be offered on the unusual action, according to the sources with knowledge of the situation. The NBA strongly advised against it because the tournaments had been tape-delayed, meaning a handful of people already knew the outcomes and could benefit from that information if bets were offered. Sportsbooks agreed. The NFL recently has also found success restricting certain types of prop bets, this time through legislation. The Illinois Gaming Board in February approved the NFL's request to prohibit 10 types of what it classified as 'objectionable wagers,' including whether a kicker would miss a field goal or an extra point and whether quarterback's first pass of a game would be incomplete — the same type of 'single-actor' bets that leagues have come out against and that have reportedly sparked investigations into multiple athletes. By seeking to influence which bets are offered, leagues and their gambling partners are attempting a delicate balance of limiting bets they consider risks to the integrity of their games while still ensuring that enough betting options are offered to keep fans wagering their dollars in legal markets, rather than through offshore sportsbooks where tracking suspicious activity is much more opaque. Proponents of sports betting suggest that although the headlines about players or league staffers being investigated, or caught, for betting manipulation isn't good public relations for the sports, they're a sign that a 'complex system that detects aberrational behavior,' as Silver said in July, is working as intended. As part of their partnership agreements, leagues, betting operators and so-called integrity firms have data-sharing agreements that allow them to communicate with one another to monitor suspicious activity. "The transparency inherent with legalized sports betting has become a significant asset in protecting the integrity of athletic competition," DraftKings said in a statement. "Unlike the pre-legalization era, when threats were far more difficult to detect, the regulated industry now provides increased oversight and accountability that helps to identify potentially suspicious activity.' In the case of the pair of Cleveland Guardian pitchers, the Ohio Casino Control Commission was notified June 30 by a licensed Ohio sportsbook about suspicious wagering on Guardians games and 'was also promptly contacted by Major League Baseball regarding the events,' a commission spokesperson said in a statement. 'Under the Commission's statutory responsibilities, an independent investigation commenced.' It's why leagues and sportsbook operators consider restricting bets a fine line. 'If you have sweeping prohibitions on that type of a bet, you're taking away the ability for your league to ensure the integrity of that activity,' said Joe Maloney, a senior vice president for strategic communications at the American Gaming Association. 'You will not have the ability to work with an integrity monitor to identify any irregular betting activity on such a legal market. You will not have the collaboration of a legal operator who will share that information. You will not have the collaboration of a legal operator to say to them, 'Here's the do-not-fly list for betting activity for our league: employees, club employees, trainers, athletic officials, referees,' etc. ... 'Betting engagement on prop bets is largely a reflection of fandom. And so, by pushing that away, I think you absolutely lose the ability to properly oversee it and to root out the bad actors that would seem to exploit it. Because it will still take place.' In 2022, legal sports betting accounted for $6.8 billion in legal revenue, while illegal sports betting accounted for about $3.8 billion, according to research from the American Gaming Association, a trade association. Last year, it estimated that revenue from legal sports betting rose to $16 billion, while the illegal market grew to about $5 billion. A 2024 analysis by the International Betting Integrity Association, a nonprofit integrity firm made up of licensed gambling operators, questioned the efficacy of restricting prop bets. The IBIA reported that 59 out of 360,000 basketball games that had been offered for betting from 2017 to 2023 were 'the subject of suspicious betting.' 'There was no suspicious betting activity linked to match manipulation identified on player prop markets,' the IBIA report said. 'There is no meaningful integrity benefit from excluding such markets, which are widely available globally. Prohibiting those products will make offshore operators more attractive.' By persuading its partners to keep some prop bets off the books, the NBA nonetheless provided a precedent for how to remove bets leagues have considered, to use Manfred's term, 'unnecessary.' Would MLB, amid an ongoing investigation into two pitchers, follow? Unlike the NBA, MLB doesn't have easily defined classifications of contracts such as 10-day and two-way players. One method could instead be to target so-called first-pitch microbets. MLB is having 'ongoing conversations' related to gambling, according to a person with knowledge of the league's thinking. If baseball were to make such a push against microbets, its reasoning might mirror the NBA's last year, said Gill Alexander, a longtime sports betting commentator for VSiN. 'I think basically baseball's point would be, you know, this is the type of prop that is just begging for trouble, right?' Alexander said. Ohio, for one, would most likely agree. Last month, Gov. Mike DeWine asked the Ohio Casino Control Commission to ban prop bets on 'highly specific events within games that are completely controlled by one player," he said in a news release, while asking the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA and MLS commissioners to support his stance. 'The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly,' DeWine said. Alexander said: 'I do think that we're in the era now where these leagues can exert some influence on these sports books, as long as it is of no financial pain to the sports books. This is one of these instances where, really, I don't agree with Rob Manfred every day, but I actually think he's probably going to get what he wants here.'
