FBI Director Kash Patel sharply rebuked ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith on Thursday after Smith suggested that a major NBA gambling investigation was politically motivated retaliation by President Donald Trump.
“Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list, because when you’ve got all of these protests that have been going out there and people have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming,” Smith warned on-air. “He’s coming.”
Earlier in the day, federal authorities announced sweeping arrests tied to criminal gambling schemes that sent shockwaves through professional basketball.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were among those charged.
The Justice Department said the cases involved rigged poker games linked to the mafia and the misuse of non-public information to profit off NBA prop bets. Officials emphasized the investigation had been underway for years.
Patel appeared on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle to discuss the probe. Pressed on its origins, he remained guarded.
“How long has this investigation been going on? Did an informant tip you off?” host Laura Ingraham asked.
“Well, I can’t get into the nature of how we got on to this, but it’s been going on some time,” Patel replied. He described the schemes as highly coordinated, noting that suspects “literally had scanners at poker tables,” and that “professional athletes in the NBA walk off the court so their proposition bets could be met,” working alongside “La Cosa Nostra and the individuals that we arrested today.”
When Ingraham raised Smith’s allegation that the arrests were revenge for “left-wing activism,” Patel did not conceal his disbelief.
“I’m the FBI director,” he responded. “I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct. That 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, D.C.”
The Biden-era NBA developed a reputation for political protest, and critics have long questioned the league’s priorities. But Patel insisted that federal law enforcement is driven by evidence, not rhetoric — and that criminal schemes involving organized crime and professional athletes demand accountability, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.
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