Terry Rozier is pushing back on an arbitration ruling that allows the NBA to withhold most of the remaining $26.6 million on his Heat contract, arguing court-imposed release conditions tied to his federal gambling case significantly hamper his ability to sign with another team.
The arbitrator’s May 20 decision in favor of the NBA happened was not publicly known until Wednesday, when Rozier’s attorney filed a motion seeking to modify the conditions of Rozier’s release in the criminal case. According to the motion, the arbitrator determined that, even though Rozier had been placed on administrative leave by the NBA, the conditions of release imposed on him in the criminal case “rendered him in breach of his contractual obligation to play.”
Rozier was indicted in October over allegations he was involved in an illegal betting scheme. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $6 million bond, but under the terms of his release, he is not allowed to have any contact with “current and former employees of, and independent contractors for” the Charlotte Hornets or Miami Heat (the Hornets are the team he was on when he allegedly committed crimes, while the Heat are the team he was most recently on).
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, asked the judge in the federal case on Wednesday to change the conditions of his release to remove the Hornets and Heat, arguing that the existing conditions would “likely prevent him from having any opportunity to play in the NBA.” NBA free agency begins June 30.
“Seven months after Mr. Rozier’s arrest, there is no evidence of him failing to comply with any of the conditions of his release, including the no-contact list,” the motion says. “Allowing for the possibility of employment in the NBA by modifying the Government’s no-contact provisions does not increase either the ‘danger to the community’ or ‘risk of flight’ components of determining pretrial release and conditions.”
Trusty says the current conditions are “unfairly punitive in that they preclude Mr. Rozier from participating in his chosen profession as an NBA player.”
“This is particularly true due to the fact that most players have comparatively short careers—and with forced inactivity Mr. Rozier is facing a potential second season of non-participation despite being entitled to a presumption of innocence,” Trusty’s motion says.
According to Trusty, the government on May 29 said it would remove the Heat from the “no-contact list,” but on June 2 said it would not remove the Hornets.
The request comes not long after federal prosecutors added two new counts against Rozier in the criminal case in a superseding indictment made public May 28. Rozier is accused of pretending to be hurt in a March 23, 2023, game, when he was on the Hornets, in order to remove himself early and enable gamblers to make money betting the under on multiple Rozier statistics. The superseding indictment claims Rozier agreed to a $100,000 bribe, but only ended up getting about $70,000 because he got too many rebounds in the game.
Rozier has argued the evidence against him—which to date includes only the one game—is weak.
The 32-year-old guard signed a four-year, $96.3 million contract with the Hornets in August 2021, and was traded to Miami in January 2024. This was the final year of that contract. Initially, in February, the arbitrator ruled that Rozier would still need to be paid his remaining salary. Then, the arbitrator found that the NBA’s CBA prevents players from being put on unpaid leave except for cases involving child abuse and domestic violence, according to ESPN.
According to Trusty, following that ruling, the NBA and the Heat “almost immediately” stopped making full payments to Rozier, which prompted a second round of arbitration in early April. “This time, the NBA’s position was that the no-contact provisions and travel limitations had rendered Mr. Rozier unable to comply with his contractual obligations,” Trusty’s motion says. As revealed in Wednesday’s filing, the arbitrator was convinced by the NBA’s argument.
The sports betting scandal was one of two cases revealed in October that, in total, featured 34 arrests. The other was an alleged mafia-backed poker ring in which Chauncey Billups was named as a defendant. Billups pleaded not guilty, and the judge is targeting a November trial for the poker case.
Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, who was named in both indictments, changed his plea in the sports betting case to guilty in April. A trial date for the betting case has not been set.
Rozier’s attorney declined to comment further Wednesday, and representatives for the NBA and NBA Players Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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