The Washington Post revealed this Thursday that LeBron James‘ manager, business parter and friend Maverick Carter, told federal agents in 2021 that he used to bet on NBA games through an illegal bookmaker.
During his interviews with the FBI, he apparently told the officials that he “could not remember placing any bets on the Lakers” and went on to deny placing bets for other people. This information was all revealed according to a report that summarized the interactions between Carter and the Feds.
“In 2021 and before 38 states and the District of Columbia legalized sports betting, Maverick Carter was interviewed a single time by federal law enforcement regarding their investigation into Wayne Nix,” said in a statement Adam Mendelsohn, a spokesperson for both James and his manager. “Mr. Carter was not the target of the investigation, cooperated, was never charged, and never contacted again on the matter.”
Report: LeBron James’ business partner Maverick Carter said he bet on NBA games through illegal bookie https://t.co/xtKbW3wfs5
— KVUE News (@KVUE) December 1, 2023
According to the reports, the superstar’s manager admitted to have placed around 20 bets on both NFL and NBA contests throughout an entire year, with bets ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
The league forbids athletes, teams and NBA officials from betting on the competition, just as the National Basketball Players Association decided to include agents in this regulation, but business managers were left out from both sides of the rulebook.
The investigation is after Wayne Nix, a former minor league baseball athlete who plead guilty back in 2022, as it was confirmed he conspired to operate an illegal sports gambling business while filing fake tax returns. According to prosecutors, his operations worked for at least two decades and had many star players as clients, including ex-Bulls star Scottie Pippen and MLB player Yasiel Puig.
As the baseball outfielder’s plea changed to not guilty for a federal charge of lying to law enforcement agents, his trial is set for January. “The government’s decisions not to charge the prominent Black athlete and the Black business manager… notwithstanding their false statements,” said prosecutor Mitchell of his case.“Undercuts [Puig’s] claim that the government’s actions arise from bias.”
LeBron recently said that his manager is “his own man” and he can do whatever he wants to do inside the legal frame
Right after Thursday’s 133-110 loss to the Thunder, James admitted he wasn’t aware about Carter’s talk with federal agents until “the last 24 hours.” He went on to say that his manager can do as he pleases inside the legal frame.
“Maverick’s his own man and at the end of the day, gambling is legal,” LeBron said. “I mean, you can go on your phone right now and do whatever you want. And he has no affiliation with the NBA or NFL, so, he can do what he wants to do.”
As his son Bronny is cleared to return to training after his cardiac arrest, the 38-year-old also told members of the press that he’s already announced to his teammates and staff that he’ll miss a game with the team if it is scheduled the same day that his son Bronny is set to make his college debut with the USC.
“Whenever he’s cleared and ready to have his first game, I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we’re playing, I’m going to have to catch them the next game,” the superstar said. “Family over everything … But definitely got to see Bronny’s first game whenever he’s cleared and ready to go.”
