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Celtics star Jaylen Brown says the NBA needs to do a better job protecting its players from the growing influence of sports betting. Speaking to reporters before Friday’s loss at Madison Square Garden, Brown said the league hasn’t done enough to address the mounting pressure and harassment players face from fans who wager on games. “They’re like, ‘You make X amount of money, you should be able to deal with all the extra negativity, the people approaching you about the parlays,’” Brown told reporters. “It creates a negative discourse around the game and players when people have money involved. It’s leading to situations that we can avoid if more conversations were had right now.” Brown’s comments came a day after Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested as part of a wide-ranging federal probe into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games tied to organized crime. Rozier is accused of tipping off an associate that he’d remove himself from a 2023 Hornets game, allowing “under” prop bets to cash. Billups, meanwhile, is facing wire fraud and money laundering charges related to rigged poker games and is alleged to have provided advance injury information to bettors. Both have denied the allegations. Brown, who serves as a vice president for the NBA Players Association, said he plans to help the union dig deeper into what happened but criticized the league for prioritizing revenue over player safety. “I don’t think once, from my conversations with the union, that the NBA has been like, ‘How can we protect players more with this environment?’” Brown said. “There’s been little to no conversation around that. “It’s all about, a lot of times, ‘How can we increase business and increase revenue?’ I don’t think we’re talking enough about the aftermath or the consequences of that.” In response, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass issued a statement saying player and coach safety “has always been of critical importance.” “League security works with team officials and law enforcement to respond to any type of fan behavior that violates our code of conduct,” Bass said. “We have put safeguards in place, including social media monitoring, to track and mitigate any potential threats or safety risks.” Brown, who played alongside Rozier in Boston from 2016 to 2019, called the allegations “not conducive of his character.” “Obviously, if those guys are innocent, it’s not a great look for them publicly,” Brown said. “So we’ve got to make sure if they are exonerated, their images are cleaned up. Right now, getting all the information and getting to the bottom of it is the most important thing.”
