Shaquille O’Neal has voiced his disappointment over the NBA gambling arrests that have rocked basketball this week, saying he feels “ashamed” of the players involved.
Speaking on ESPN’s Inside the NBA Thursday night, the Hall of Famer addressed the news that Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones were among 34 people taken into custody by the FBI.
“All these guys knew what was at stake,” O’Neal said. “I’m just ashamed that they put themselves and their family and the NBA in this position.”
He continued, “We all know the rules, we all know the letter of the law and it’s just unfortunate. Innocent until proven guilty, but usually when the FBI has something, they have you.
“They’ll wait two, three, four, five years, but when they come knocking on your door, they have something.”
Shaq reacts to NBA gambling scandal
O’Neal said he wasn’t pretending to be perfect, admitting he gambles on occasion. “Every now and then, when I go to Vegas, I’ll play some craps and I’ll play some roulette,” he said.
“But I never gambled at anyone’s house. Don’t know anything about poker.”
Still, the four-time NBA champion said he couldn’t understand why players already earning millions would risk their reputations.
“I’m ashamed that those guys would put their families and their careers in jeopardy,” he said. “There’s an old saying in the hood: ‘All money ain’t good money.’”
“So if you’re making $9 million and you’re dealing a certain thing, like, how much more do you need?” he added.
“Especially if you know you get caught, you could do jail time, lose your career, put a bad image on yourself, your family or on the NBA… They dropped the ball.”
FBI investigation widens
The FBI says the twin gambling schemes — one focused on insider betting, the other on rigged poker games — spanned multiple years and states.
Officials claim the operations generated tens of millions of dollars through wire fraud and money laundering.
Rozier and Billups have since been placed on immediate leave by the NBA and appeared in court on Thursday.
Their attorneys both denied the allegations, calling the evidence unreliable and their clients’ reputations beyond reproach.
For O’Neal, though, the damage is already done. “You never want to have your name involved in that when you know the letter of the law,” he said.
READ NEXT: LONGEST WORLD SERIES TITLE DROUGHTS: WHERE THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS RANK IN 2025
