Source: Alika Jenner / Getty
Gambling in professional sports has only been legal for about six years, and it appears a reckoning is coming.
Yet another player is being accused of betting on their sport, this time being Jontay Porter.
The Toronto Raptors forward allegedly bet on himself as recently as a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on January 26 and the Sacramento Kings on March 20.
For the Clippers game, a prop bet was entered that included 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and a .50 under/over for made threes.
However, after playing just four minutes, Porter left the game, claiming he aggravated an eye injury he first sustained a few days earlier against the Memphis Grizzlies. According to ESPN, the very next day DraftKings said that Porter’s three-pointer under was the most lucrative of all NBA games the night before.
Just two days later, his eye seemed to be just fine when he scored 12 points and seven rebounds on 12 minutes of play.
Then, a few days later, something similar happened in a game against the Kings, when his over/under were set at 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. Like clockwork, Porter checked out of the game after three minutes, citing an illness. Again, DraftKings says it was the most profitable of all bets placed that night.
The unusually high bet amounts made things even more sketchy, with the person offering somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000, which is more than the average gambling hobbyist.
A sportsbook source and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski seemingly proved that something fishy was happening, and it was known.
“People were trying to do whatever they could to bet Jontay Porter props [against the Clippers],” the source told Woj. “And then, just a few days ago, the same thing. We had a bunch of people trying to bet under for more.”
Woj also confirmed that the league is looking into Porter’s alleged betting. The Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković is aware of the claims but has never been given a reason not to trust his players.
“I never doubt injuries. I never doubt honesty from players,” Rajaković said. “Obviously, I’ve never had a situation like this before.”
“We’ve just got to deal with it,” he added.
The 24-year-old Porter went undrafted in 2019 but was signed by the Grizzlies the final year and eventually released. He’s currently on a two-way contract with the Raptors.
Porter comes from an athletic family, including his assistant coach father, his two sisters Bri and Cierra, who also played college ball, and of course, his brother, NBA Champion and Denver Nugget Michael Porter Jr.
See how social media is reacting to Porter’s alleged gambling below.
NBA Reportedly Investigating Raptors Jontay Porter For Betting, Social Media Chimes In was originally published on cassiuslife.com
