Jontay Porter banned from NBA for life for gambling

Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill reacts to the news that Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA for life after the NBA's investigation found him guilty of breaking the league's gambling policy.

Video transcript

VINCENT GOODWILL: Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter has been banned by the NBA for gambling. He was caught by Las Vegas, actually, for suspicious activities. He had alerted actual gamblers and had placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate's online betting account. The bets actually ranged from $15 to $22,000, and he wound up actually winning $22,000 in net winnings through his gamblings.

Adam Silver issued a strong statement. He said, quote, while legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets placed on our games and players. What that is saying is Adam Silver does not like prop bets.

What is also included in this press release from the NBA is that prop bets were placed on Porter by Porter, and he was able to manipulate the outcome. Remember, our friend Nick Wright came on my podcast a few weeks ago and talked about being a probable scandal involving some of these lower paid employees, probably more so pointing to referees like it was in the Tim Donaghy scandal.

But Jontay Porter was a two-way player not making anywhere near the exorbitant salaries most NBA players make. The NBA's investigation does remain open while Porter is banned, and Porter is also the perfect perpetrator. He's not a superstar.

He's not a player of note even though his brother is Michael Porter Jr. He is the perfect perpetrator because it sends a message to NBA players big and small. Do not mess with gambling because not only will the NBA catch you-- Las Vegas is geared to catch you, and the NBA will punish you with a swift hand.