There’s a huge element of trust that’s been broken by the players and coaches of these sports we love
One of the many things we love about sports is that it’s a gripping story unfolding in front of our very eyes.
There are heroes and villains. Stirring plots with countless twists and turns. Challenges to overcome and glory to win.
But unlike your favorite work of fantasy fiction, this feels more authentic. It captivates our attention so powerfully because it’s like you’re seeing the plot of a great movie unfold for the first time, and all the elements of the story are right there before us. You can’t take a picture with Jon Snow, visit Panem, or help Gondor defeat Mordor. But you can get an autograph from Patrick Mahomes, buy a ticket to Fenway Park, or cheer for your team to defeat their biggest rival.
The best part? It’s all unscripted. No one playing in the games or those watching know what’s going to happen. The suspense is what keeps people watching the same teams and players for decades, and the lack of a predetermined outcome makes it feel authentic in a way that works how fantasy can’t. It’s what makes sports so special.
But now, that element of sports is eroding before our very eyes.
On Thursday, news broke that Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and guard Terry Rozier were arrested for alleged involvement in an elaborate NBA gambling scheme that has ties to the mafia. Things have gotten so bad that the FBI is now intervening to find out the extent of how far this went.
PORTLAND, OREGON – OCTOBER 22: Head coach Chauncey Billips of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Moda Center on October 22, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Billups has maintained he is innocent, and until he’s proven guilty, we have to assume he is. But there’s a bigger picture problem here: fans are now going to have a hard time trusting that the sports product they are watching is real.
Think about it. If current coaches and players are (allegedly) doing all they can to rig games to pocket some side money, can we seriously claim that sports are truly unscripted? Are we really watching a pure product unfold before us, or will it be predetermined because some shady characters want to cash in on parlays?
And if we start to believe that the NBA is the only place where stuff like this happens (even if not to this scale), then we are kidding ourselves. 38 of 50 states in America have legalized gambling, and while that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with illegal schemes, it shows how widely accepted gambling has become, and people are using that to become more bold in how they gamble and what they gamble on.
I do need to say that I have no issue with gambling, within limits. I’ve done it myself, and it can be really fun.
But this case with Billups, Rozier, and potentially many other players has opened up a Pandora’s box of trust issues that we can’t undo. Now those of us watching at home will have to wonder if the people we once admired are really playing their part in the story authentically, or if they are acting in the illegal monetary interests of themselves and purposefully altering the outcomes of games.
Some of the main characters we admired have now become traitors in one of the most authentic spaces of life we have. That’s a plot twist no one wanted.
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