Federal trial for former Hornets guard scheduled for early next year
The NBA and Charlotte Hornets prefer not to have any contact with former player Terry Rozier, as he remains free on bond and awaiting a February trial for four federal charges related to an alleged sports corruption scheme.
Federal prosecutors made that assertion on their behalf on Monday through a docket filing in the Eastern District of New York, where Rozier is accused of accepting a $100,000 bribe to underperform in a March 23, 2023, game for the Hornets for the benefit of gamblers. Those alleged co-conspirators won bets on several “unders” props that night as Rozier left the game against the New Orleans Pelicans after just more than nine minutes with a supposed injury.
The NBA and Charlotte haven’t released statements. The terms of Rozier’s release on bond dictate he avoid contact with “victims or witnesses, co-[defendants] or co-conspirators except (1) in presence of counsel and (ii) may contact family about non-case-related issues.”
In the Monday filing, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. wrote that “both the NBA and Hornets support continuing the no contact provision” as currently written because Rozier, if allowed to resume his career, would be in a position to come into contact with restricted persons in multiple settings, including shootarounds, treatment rooms, chapel or tunnels and corridors near locker rooms.
LaMelo Ball is the only player from the 2022-23 Hornets team still with the organization. He was inactive for the game in question. The Charlotte coaching staff and front office have also changed.
Rozier Attorney Says Client Being Unfairly Treated
Rozier, who was a member of the Miami Heat when authorities arrested him last October, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sports bribery, honest services fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. His trial is set for Feb. 8. He played in Charlotte for five seasons after starting his pro career with the Boston Celtics.
Federal prosecutors assert in court documents the 32-year-old has already attempted to reach a potential witness via text and used an intermediary attempting to contact another.
But through attorney Jim Trusty, Rozier requested to have the no-contact term of his bond agreement lifted so he could resume his career, arguing that “in the absence of any evidence of obstructionist action by Mr. Rozier, the no-contact provision is otherwise “unfairly punitive in that [it] preclude[s] Mr. Rozier from participating in his chosen profession as an NBA player.”
Nocella wrote in the Monday filing that “although the government has no objection to removing a blanket no-contact list for the Hornets and instead providing a list of specific individuals from the 2023 Hornets organization with whom Mr. Rozier should have no contact, the government objects to Mr. Rozier or any other defendant communicating with non-family witnesses outside of the presence of counsel. The potential for witness tampering in such a scenario, particularly with a trial date on the horizon, is high, and nearly impossible for the government or pretrial to monitor and enforce.”
Rozier had been barred from contact with the Miami organization until the Heat released him in April.
U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall last week asked the league and Rozier’s former employer to weigh in on his request to speak with NBA officials and Hornets players and staff. Rozier remains unsigned, and in May, an arbitrator ruled that he should not receive the majority of a $26.6 million contract for the 2025-26 season because his bail restrictions precluded him from fulfilling his obligations.
Trusty wrote in a court filing this week that “The NBA and the Miami Heat have 26 million reasons to try to use bond conditions as a disqualification for Terry Rozier from playing basketball. Even before it was granted the title of ‘victim’ by way of a superseding indictment’s shift to Private Honest Services Fraud, the league was imploring federal prosecutors to banish Mr. Rozier from contact with anyone in the NBA. As evidenced by the Government’s letter to the Court filed late last night, the philosophical tenets of the Bail Reform Act are being side-stepped by the Government, with tremendous cost to Mr. Rozier’s ability to pursue employment during the pendency of this case.”
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