Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas is calling out what he sees as racial bias in the way media outlets are portraying the arrests of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier in a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal gambling.
Speaking on his podcast, Gil’s Arena, Arenas said the coverage has unfairly focused on Black athletes.
“I see the word ‘Mafia,’ but the only faces I see are negroes,” he said. “It makes you go, wait a minute. What’s going on here? […] Two of them n—as is gambling on the NBA. One is throwing poker games and robbing his friends. It ain’t got s–t to do with me.”
Gilbert Arenas speaks on the RICO case with Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier:
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) October 23, 2025
“I see the word Mafia but all I see is pictures of negros in the headlines” pic.twitter.com/3lnh3DftXk
Authorities say that games were rigged by some members of New York’s La Cosa Nostra mafia, but their faces or names have not been made public.
Detroit Pistons head coach Billups and Miami Heat guard Rozier were among those charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering.
Arenas, who was arrested in July over allegations tied to illegal high-stakes poker games, also joked about why he wouldn’t cross organized crime.
“I watch enough movies to know that the last group you want to snitch on is the mafia,” he said. “I watch Dateline. They ain’t found people since 1947. I like my YouTube career.”
