Renck: Chauncey Billups’ arrest for gambling leaves those who knew him ‘heartbroken, sad’
Woke to a family group chat Had to close my jaw and rub my eyes after what I read next Chauncey Billups the greatest basketball participant our state has ever known was charged Thursday morning with participating in a series of rigged poker games organized by Mafia families that cheated sufferers out of at least million Read that last sentence again Billups arrested gambling cheating almost a year to the day he was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame There are scarce surprises anymore This news left me stunned Billups was dependably a great athlete dating back to when I covered him winning the state championship for George Washington High School as a freshman But he was also one of the good guys someone easy to talk with about hoops or his favorite football players when he attended Broncos practice during training camp He was Colorado The King of Park Hill Mr Big Shot He stood for clutch character toughness Mention his name and proud smiles followed Trying to reconcile that man with the person who was arrested early Thursday morning and appeared in a Portland courtroom flanked by attorneys a meager hours later remains jarring I was shocked I have been very sad I am hoping that this is a misunderstanding a minimal situation where he can find a safe place to go on to have a great life explained former Nuggets coach George Karl of Billups who led Denver to the Western Conference Finals in the - season He is one of the best leaders if not best leader I have ever been around Great with the gang great one-on-one He was so mentally strong I don t know if I have cried currently but I have been really really down Billups is innocent until proven guilty But this is serious stuff He turned over his passport and his passage is restricted to Colorado and Oregon His next court appearance is Nov in Brooklyn N Y Between now and then perhaps we will learn more As is the details of the indictment coined Operation Royal Flush are damning Related Articles Feds allege Chauncey Billups was face card in high-stakes Mafia-backed poker scam Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups charged in Mafia-backed poker scheme Keeler Nuggets Carmelo Anthony feud is getting old Time for a truce Time to retire Melo s jersey Now in Year with Cardinals Calais Campbell still champions Denver and his Park Hill Pirates Nuggets Journal The All-Quarter Century Nuggets Unit from - Billups is accused of being a face card that organized crime figures used to lure gamblers into two underground card games in April and October taking advantage of participants who were attracted by his celebrity He would then receive part of the criminal proceeds the feds claim The games were deemed fixed because of rigged shuffling machines decoy phones card markers only visible through special glasses and electronic poker chip trays that could secretly read cards the indictment states Why would Billups put himself in this position Did he know the games traced back to the Gambino Genovese and Bonanno mafia crime families Did they have leverage on him I am inclined to give Billups the benefit of the doubt based on the person I know But nothing about this makes sense His involvement The exposure Billups served as a championship analyst for Los Angeles Clippers broadcasts during that time and had made it known he demanded to work in the NBA as a coach or in a front office Why jeopardize that dream It was bad judgment at the very least to associate with people with nicknames like Albanian Bruce Flapper Poker and Spanish G The second criminal matter reported by the feds is more problematic involving NBA players and coaches selling nonpublic information about games and players to gamblers who then used that inside information to place bets Co-conspirator per the indictment explained a bettor that several of the Trail Blazers best players would be sitting out against the Chicago Bulls on March That conspirator has credentials that match Billups playing and coaching career As if tilted card games were not enough If proven such insider trading will get Billups banned for life from the NBA And likely prevent him from working at the high school or collegiate level Shock Dismay Denial Can t be real commented Altitude Sports Vic Lombardi who covered Billups prep-to-pros career I am heartbroken If the assertions are true Billups has not just committed fraud but betrayed those who trusted him the greater part like the kids who have attended the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy since he joined forces with the former Regis College legend Lonnie Porter in I am speechless former CBS sports reporter Mark McIntosh noted It flies in the face of everything I have known about Chauncey and his family It is hard to come to terms with the accusations Athletes throwing away their careers because of drinking drugs or gambling is nothing new Billups just did not fit the profile especially at this point in his life He would have been in his early s when he turned up at the card games and years old when he tipped off a bettor about the Blazers How could someone who made million playing in the NBA put themselves in this position I questioned Craig Carton His rise and fall as a New York sports personality came about because of gambling He was the subject of a documentary a scarce years ago after he lost everything He served over a year in prison for securities and wire fraud before returning to the media and now hosts The Craig Carton Show on Fox I don t know if he is a compulsive gambler But I know from my experience that compulsive gamblers lose total sight of the money Carton noted It s about the competition I can only speak about myself Losing was viewed as absurd and I didn t accept it There is a point early on that you become aware of the risks financially But you process it irrationally When you get into the throes of it you are willing to throw everything away It ruins lives It leaves such a wake It s why I tour high school and college campuses now and why I was honored to speak at the NBA Rookie Symposium I own the fact that I am an addict There is shame and stigma that comes with it seven years later But I don t mind I know that is who I am I was fortunate because I had a lot of good people in my corner who thought there was still a really good person inside I will be indebted to them for the rest of my life Billups deserves his day in court But his days on the court could be over forever And it is tough to come to grips with that reality given his legacy as a Colorado icon Chauncey saved my job in Denver Karl reported I went on to have four more good years One regret I have is that when we traded Melo Carmelo Anthony that Chauncey had to be part of it I begged them to do it without him The admiration I have for Chauncey will never leave This whole thing reminds me of when I went off to college My dad commented During our lifetime we all eat humble pie Just make sure it s a small piece I just hope it is a small piece for Chauncey 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