ESPN reporter Stephen A. Smith falsely claimed Thursday that the FBI's investigation into illegal gambling by several NBA members, which began in 2022 under the Biden administration, is some kind of revenge by Donald Trump on the league.
Smith retracted his claims to ESPN First take on Thursday, where he said Trump would “come” to arrest and jail anyone who disagrees with him — a practice during the Biden years.
Trump's FBI director Cash Patel announced Thursday that Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among 31 people arrested in an investigation into a gambling ring reportedly linked to organized crime.
Smith, however, was enthusiastic about his imagined idea that Trump was somehow getting revenge on the NBA for its vehement opposition to him.
“Remember, Trump has a long, long history in the sports world because he had these casinos,” Smith said, laying out his absurd take on the arrest history. “Where do you think people went half the time? I'm not talking about individuals, I'm talking about culture. When people want to go to the casino, when people want to gamble, when people want to have a party or whatever it was, that was kind of the connection with that.”
“Don't be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list because when you have all these protests that are going on there and people protesting against him and what have you, this man will come,” Smith continued. “He's coming.”
“I'm watching a press conference with the director of the FBI. Tell me when we saw it,” he chattered. “We've seen allegations before. We've seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don't see the director of the FBI holding a press conference. This is not a coincidence. This is not an accident. This is a statement and a warning that there's more to come.”
“In his eyes people were trying to quit [Trump] in prison. In his opinion, he is innocent, and “they are trying to put me behind bars.” I'll get everyone. He’s not playing,” he exclaimed.
He concluded with an over-the-top warning, saying, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. It's very worrying. We don't know where it's going to go. But everyone better get ready because it's coming.”
Smith is either completely unaware of the facts of this case or is deliberately hiding them. The fact is that this investigation was launched by Biden's FBI in 2022. reports“Operation Royal Flush began in 2021 or 2022 under the Biden administration. This means that the Trump administration did not launch the investigation for the purpose of anything like “revenge,” but was simply monitoring the Biden administration’s ongoing investigation.
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