NBA bans Porter, betting probe shows he wagered
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA on Wednesday after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on the Raptors to lose.
Porter is the second person to be banned by Commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, shortly after Silver took office.
In making the announcement, Silver called Porter's actions “blatant.”
The investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20 against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
Colleges
NCAA ALLOWS TRANSFERS TO BE IMMEDIATELY ELIGIBLE >>
NCAA athletes will be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer — as long as they meet academic requirements — after the association fast-tracked legislation to fall in line with a recent court order.
The NCAA posted on social media that the Division I Council's decision becomes official Thursday when its meeting adjourns. It still needs to be ratified by the DI Board next week, but that is expected.
Olympics
USA BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES ITS MEN'S TEAM FOR PARIS GAMES >>
USA Basketball studied every men's basketball game it has played for about two decades and a clear trend eventually appeared. When the defense isn't good enough, the Americans tend to get themselves into trouble.
And the team for the Paris Olympics was built with that in mind.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Kawhi
Leonard were formally announced as members of the U.S. Olympic team on Wednesday — a group with nearly 200,000 NBA points, 84 All-Star Game selections and 10 Olympic gold medals between them.
Gymnastics
LAWYERS FOR NASSAR ASSAULT SURVIVORS HAVE REACHED $100M DEAL WITH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT >> The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The deal has not been finalized and no money has been paid, the source said on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak before a formal announcement.
An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations by women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016.
Soccer
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE >> Real Madrid advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League after beating Manchester 4-3 on penalties at Etihad Stadium. Antonio Rudiger struck the decisive spot kick after the game had finished 1-1 through extra time and 4-4 on aggregate. Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both saw their penalties saved in the shootout as defending champion City was eliminated by record 14-time winner Madrid . ... Joshua Kimmich's header powered Bayern Munich to a 1-0 win over Arsenal to reach the semifinals with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.