The 6-foot-1 pro is accused of having given a friend inside information about an injury ahead of a March 2023 contest, while he was with the Charlotte Hornets, so that the friend could relay the intel to gamblers who could promptly reap the benefits from “under” prop bets on his output.
Rozier is one of a number of NBA figures who have been indicted, along with Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former player and assistant coach Damon Jones.
Rozier and Billups have been placed on leave from Miami and Portland, respectively, the league has announced.
Now, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, Rozier has received even more bad news: he won’t get paid any of his $26.6 million salary for this season while the investigation continues. Reynolds tweets that the 31-year-old’s money will be put in an interest-bearing account.
Assuming Rozier is cleared of any wrongdoing, he would be given his withheld funds in full.
His lawyer, Jim Trusty, asserted Rozier’s full innocence while on Fox News Tuesday, per Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I think the prosecution basically knows it, but they liked the idea of having him as a trophy in this case to kind of mirror the bigger case with Chauncey Billups,” Trusty said. “And I hope over time they will start to realize maybe a little bit of buyer’s remorse. They bit off more than they can chew.”
Rozier remains a productive player when he does suit up, although he wasn’t in Miami’s rotation this year even before his arrest. In 64 games last season with Miami, he averaged 10.6 points on .391/.295/.852 shooting splits, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 0.9 steals a night.
“This is an innocent guy who’s getting completely screwed, to use some legal vernacular, in terms of his career. It’s an 11-year vet,” Trusty added. “He’s played 1,000 games. They’re latching onto a game where the NBA literally cleared him two years ago and trying to suggest that somehow they know better and that they know he was a conspirator, as opposed to just somebody who had a hurt foot.”
