- Michael Porter Jr. discusses the detriments of gambling as a professional athlete on a recent podcast.
BROOKLYN – Michael Porter Jr. recently opened up on the ‘One Night with Steiny’ podcast about the harmful impact that sports betting has on NBA players.
The new Brooklyn Nets forward was honest about the social and financial pressure that players encounter, claiming things are “only going to get worse”, on a recent podcast.
He goes on to describe the flaws within the system, expressing his stance on legal sports betting as an athlete and the struggles of navigating the game and balancing a personal life.
Porter Jr. admits that the temptation to engage in illegal bets is definitely present, and has a consequential impact on the lives of basketball players.
“Think about it: if you can get all your homies rich by telling them, ‘Yo, bet $10,000 on my under. This one game, I’m gonna act like I got an injury, I’ma sit out, I’ma come out after three minutes,’ and they all get a little bag because you did it one game,” said the 27-year-old. “That is so not okay, but some people probably think like that. They come from nothing and all their homies have nothing.”
His brother, Jontay Porter was involved in a sports betting scandal last year that got him permanently dismissed from the NBA.
Further, recent NBA sports betting investigations signal a crackdown on betting irregularities. Manipulating stats tied to prop betting is a growing problem in the sports betting industry.
