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The NBA has requested documents and phone records from several teams, including the LA Lakers, as part of an ongoing illegal sports gambling investigation.
Multiple teams, including the LA Lakers, have been asked to hand over documents, records, and other property as part of an ongoing illegal sports gambling investigation, according to inside sources speaking to The Athletic. This comes after the FBI and the Department of Justice exposed a far-reaching gambling scandal in the NBA, leading to ex-player and coach for the Lakers Damon Jones facing federal charges.
Now, at least 10 Lakers employees, including the team’s assistant trainer Mike Mancias and executive administrator Randy Mims, are already cooperating with authorities, volunteering to hand over their phones to investigators. Both have professional connections to Jones.
“The NBA engaged an independent law firm to investigate the allegations in the indictment once it was made public,” an NBA spokesman told The Athletic in a statement. “As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organizations were asked to preserve documents and records. Everyone has been fully cooperative.”
ReadWrite has reached out to the NBA for further comment.
The NBA in crisis
The NBA has already undertaken investigations into players on other teams, leading to a ban for former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in April last year after he was found to have deliberately compromised his performance in two games, an arrest for Gilbert Arenas on suspicion of running illegal poker games, and an investigation into Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley with regard to prop bets during the 2023-24 season.
The various investigations have led to not just the NBA but all major sports leagues being called upon to take action against unethical and illegal actions within their remits. At the end of last month, the NBA wrote a letter calling on all 30 teams, highlighting that “more can be done” to maintain integrity in the game.
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