It’s been a wild few weeks in sports; the World Series will begin, the Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury like they stole something in the WNBA Finals and NBA players and coaches were arrested for allegedly participating in a massive gambling sting tied to the mob.
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The Black internet was on fire with commentary about the sting, and sports’ most controversial talking head Stephen A. Smith joined in, sharing his theory of the one mastermind behind it all. And the FBI director just clapped back.
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, an 11-year sting operation across multiple states led to the indictment of 31 NBA players and coaches for illegal gambling, conspiracies around wire fraud, money laundering and extortion, The Hill reported.
Included in that list is Portland Trailblazer’s head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player and now assistant coach Damon Jones. Members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese mob families were also arrested.
Smith shared his two cents on the matter on ESPN’s “First Take” Oct. 23. During his rant, he suggested a much bigger, and deeper, motivation is really at play here, and that it’s all due to President Donald Trump’s plot for revenge.
“In his [Trump] eyes, folks tried to throw him in jail,” Smith said. “In his eyes, he’s innocent; ‘They tried to put me behind bars. I’m getting everybody.’ He’s not playing. Talk to people in the NBA, talk to people in the NFL, talk to people in the world of sports. They think this is the tip of the iceberg.”
Smith added: “We’ve seen accusations before. We’ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don’t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. It’s not coincidental. It’s not an accident. It’s a statement, and it’s a warning that more is coming.”
The Bronx native also called the scandal “very concerning” and encouraged folks to “brace themselves, because he’s coming — reportedly referring to Trump.
Kash Patel, the FBI director, didn’t take Smith’s comments laying down.
Patel reminded folks on Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle” that same day how he’s the one who “decides which arrest to conduct and which not to conduct.” Referring to Smith, he said the sports analyst’s remarks “may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history. And I live most of my time in Washington, DC.”
During a press conference, Patel called the suspect’s alleged fraud “mind-boggling.” He clarified that, “It’s not hundreds of dollars, it’s not thousands of dollars, it’s not tens of thousands of dollars, it’s not even millions of dollars. We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multiyear investigation.”
Patel concluded: “We arrest people for crimes.”
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