Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life and could face up to four years in prison, but he’s still trying to continue his basketball career.
Last week, the former Toronto Raptors forward pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud over a betting scandal that saw him banned from the league for life.
24-year-old Porter was released on a $250,000 bond after his guilty plea and was made to forfeit his passport.
Jeff Jensen, Porter’s lawyer, asked Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall in a letter to allow Porter to play pro basketball in Greece for Promitheas B.C. in the country’s top league and live there with his wife – who is expecting a child.
“The proposed modification would allow Mr. Porter to pursue a very fortunate — and quickly diminishing — opportunity to earn income through his primary skillset,” Jensen wrote. “Mr. Porter, and more importantly his agent, believe such an opportunity is unlikely to arise again. As you may know, Mr. Porter was recently banned from the National Basketball Association.
“Mr. Porter’s primary skillset and means of earning a living involve playing professional basketball. He left college early in 2020 to enter the NBA Draft and has not yet finished earning credits towards his college degree. Since being banned from the NBA there have been no other opportunities available to continue his basketball career. Mr. Porter has a limited window to earn an income through professional basketball during his prime earning years as a professional athlete.”
The letter also stated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the United States Pretrial Services Officer were not opposed to Porter’s request.
However, The Athletic reported that, “Porter’s motion to modify the conditions of his pre-sentence release so that he could have his U.S. passport returned to him, travel to and around Europe, reside in Patras, Greece, and play professional basketball there was denied, according to an online court notice Tuesday”.
