Tag: sports

Insane Mafia-Linked NBA Gambling Scandal Erupts; Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups Arrested Among Dozens Of Alleged Riggers

Over 30 people have been indicted after an FBI investigation uncovered an explosive gambling scandal rocking the NBA. 

Legendary Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones were all arrested as part of the investigation into illegal gambling operations that included x-ray tables that read cards, special contact lenses, rigged shuffling machines and more – swindling people out of ‘tens of millions of dollars.’

Billups was charged in connection with an illegal poker operation tied to ‘la costa nostra,’ according to the FBI, while Rozier allegedly manipulated his performance during an NBA game to sway betting results. 

According to the NY Post:

Rozier is one of the six defendants in the NBA-related investigation, each of whom was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, per Nocella.

His specific allegations tie back to a March 23, 2023 contest against the Pelicans when Rozier exited after playing the first 9:36 and did not return due to a foot issue in what would be his final tilt of the season.

He tallied five points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in that time, and one X user posted at the time how they allegedly had been tipped off that Rozier would exit early.

That knowledge would affect prop betting, where gamblers bet on a player’s statistics for a game.

An “unexpected” amount of bets came in on Rozier’s Under for that game, per ESPN, which resulted in some sportsbooks preventing further wagers on his prop lines.

The NBA investigated the issue and did not punish Rozier.

In a Thursday statement, the NBA announced that Rozier and Billups were being place on immediate leave.

“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today.  Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.  We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”

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Student Challenging Ban on Males in Female Sports Cannot Withdraw Case: Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 20 declined a male college student’s request to withdraw his challenge to Idaho’s ban on male athletes competing on school sports teams intended for females.

The court’s new ruling in Little v. Hecox came without comment in an unsigned order. No justices dissented. Previously, on July 3, the Supreme Court granted Idaho’s petition but has not yet scheduled an oral argument in the case.

Respondent Lindsay Hecox had sued Idaho, alleging that Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause and Title IX, a federal civil rights law that forbids sex-based discrimination at any school that receives federal funding.

Hecox, a biological male who identifies with a female identity, wanted to compete as part of the Boise State University women’s teams for track and cross-country.

A federal district court previously issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state law so Hecox could try out for the teams. The court ruled that the statute discriminates against transgender-identifying athletes.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the injunction, holding that laws making sex-based distinctions in schools serve as “proxy discrimination” against transgender-identifying athletes.

However, on Sept. 2, Hecox’s attorneys told the Supreme Court that he wished to abandon his appeal. The case had become too much of a distraction in his life and Hecox had asked the federal district court in which the original lawsuit was still pending to dismiss it.

“Ms. Hecox has also come under negative public scrutiny from certain quarters because of this litigation, and she believes that such continued—and likely intensified—attention in the coming school year will distract her from her schoolwork and prevent her from meeting her academic and personal goals.”

Even though playing women’s sports remains important to Hecox, “her top priority is graduating from college and living a healthy and safe life,” the filing said.

The document said that by filing a notice of voluntary dismissal at the district court level, Hecox terminated the case there, so there is no longer a live claim left to be decided by the courts. The Supreme Court should vacate the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and send the case back to that court with instructions to dismiss the appeal, the brief said.

However, on Oct. 14, U.S. District Judge David Nye of Idaho rejected the request to dismiss Hecox’s lawsuit.

Nye noted it was Hecox’s position that Idaho should be pleased he was attempting to dismiss the suit because doing so would allow the state law to remain in effect.

“But again, if Hecox dismisses this case and the Ninth Circuit’s decision is vacated, what is to prevent another individual from taking up Hecox’s mantel and bringing an identical suit. The parties (and the Court) would be back to square one.”

While it seems likely Hecox won’t “reengage in collegiate sports, she could still change her mind,” the judge said.

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California: 10 Teams Have Forfeited to Volleyball Team with Transgender Player

A total of 10 teams have now forfeited to the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball team in California due to the inclusion of a transgender athlete on its roster.

“Los Osos High School forfeited a tournament game against Jurupa Valley on Saturday, while Patriot High School forfeited its Monday varsity match, marking its second forfeit to JVHS this season. Patriot High School previously forfeited a Sept. 26 match to Jurupa Valley,” Fox News reported on Wednesday.

A California school board president familiar with the matter confirmed that only the Patriot High School varsity team forfeited to JVHS, while the JV and freshman teams did play.

No school has given an official reason for the forfeits. As many as two Jurupa Valley senior players, Alyssa McPherson and Hadeel Hazameh, quit the team this season in protest of sharing a court with a transgender athlete, which Jurupa Valley High School has continued to support.

“McPherson and Hazameh have also filed a lawsuit against the Jurupa Unified School District, citing their experience playing and sharing a locker room with Hernandez the previous three seasons. McPherson’s older sister and former JVHS girls’ volleyball player, Madison McPherson, is the third plaintiff in that lawsuit,” noted Fox News.

“Jurupa Valley is poised to play in the postseason, where forfeits may continue. Last season, a Christian high school girls’ volleyball team in northern California, Stone Ridge Christian, forfeited a playoff game to San Francisco Waldorf, which had a trans athlete on its team,” it added.

Jurupa Valley previously addressed the forfeits, saying that the school must comply with the law.

“We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the statement read. “As a public school district in California, JUSD is compelled to follow the law, which protects students from discrimination based on gender identity and requires that students be permitted to participate on athletic teams that are consistent with their gender identity (California Education Code 221.5 (f)).”

“This is consistent with the guidance provided by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond,” it continued. “We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride. We are currently working to find additional matches to give them that opportunity.”

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ACLU loses last-ditch effort to stop SCOTUS from evaluating state bans on males in girls’ sports

When the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Idaho and West Virginia can ban males from girls’ sports, two weeks after upholding Tennessee’s ban on medicalized gender transitions for minors, the transgender track athlete who defeated Idaho at trial and appeals courts got cold feet and tried to stop SCOTUS from hearing Idaho’s part of the case.

Lindsay Hecox, who is male, decided to “cease playing women’s sports in any context covered by H.B. 500” and dismissed the suit with prejudice so it cannot be filed again, claiming that continuing the litigation through SCOTUS will threaten Hecox’s “mental health, my safety, and my ability to graduate as soon as possible.”

U.S. District Judge David Nye, whose injunction against Idaho’s law as applied to Hecox was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, doesn’t think the ACLU-represented athlete is playing it straight.

The President Trump nominee, who saved Hecox’s challenge three years ago when the 9th Circuit questioned whether the lapsed athlete would resume competing and thus maintain legal standing to sue Idaho, interpreted Hecox’s late-breaking about-face as “somewhat manipulative to avoid Supreme Court review” and ruled it “should not be endorsed.”

Nye granted Idaho’s motion to strike Hecox’s notice of voluntary dismissal, in the latest setback for the ACLU’s quest to preempt state laws that favor sex over gender identity, through federal regulation and the federal courts, while keeping SCOTUS from hearing close cases.

Federal courts including President Biden’s nominees blocked his administration’s Title IX regulation conflating sex and gender identity as his lone term closed, leaving the first Trump administration’s sex-based Title IX regulation in place. Second-term President Trump’s executive orders against gender ideology left SCOTUS the ACLU’s last hope.

That hope was dashed in June when a 6-3 court rejected the ACLU’s argument, on behalf of transgender children’s families, that gender identity is a protected trait like sex and race in the context of Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery as treatment options for gender-confused youth.

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WA Teen Faces Civil Rights Complaint For Refusing To Play Basketball Against Male Athlete

A high school basketball player in Washington state has been accused of bullying, harassment after she allegedly “misgendered” a male opponent who pretends to be a female.

The controversy began when an 18 year old biological male was allowed to play on a junior varsity team in the Tumwater School District, alongside 14 and 15-year-old female athletes.

15-year-old Frances Staudt noticed the obviously male athlete on the opposing team during her warm up for the final game of the season and asked the school’s athletic director whether the player was a male, but  was told that, in accordance with Washington state law, the school will not discriminate based on sexual identity.

Staudt then notified her coach that she was unwilling to play against a biological male opponent.

According to Staudt’s mother Aimee, Frances was so frustrated that, following the game, her daughter walked by the male player and told him, “You’re a man” prompting the school district to investigate Frances for ‘misgendering’ her opponent.

Aimee Staudt told Fox News that the school district could have avoided the situation, saying, “They knew, admittedly, that there was going to be this situation, and they had a meeting, the principal, the superintendent, and the athletic director to discuss the fact that this was a potential situation that was coming up.”

Aimee maintains that little controversy would have resulted if families had been notified of the situation beforehand, and players had been given the option to sit out the game.

Staudt said, “But they didn’t do that. They put the kids on the spot, and my daughter was the one that actually stood up in this situation, and… she was exposed… It was awful the way they handled it.”

The New York Post reports that the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) policy states that each athlete will participate in programs “consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed,” and there are not even any medical or legal requirements.

Washington is one of a handful of Democrat-run states that have pushed back against President Trump’s executive order banning biological males from competing in women’s sports.

The school district released a statement last week stating, “As a district, we remain committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all students feel safe, supported, and valued.”

According to her mother, Frances received a letter late last week, stating that she had violated WIAA policy and that she could face further discipline if there are any further incidents.

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Spanberger Won’t Condemn School Board Member For Sympathetic Emails To Sex Offender Using Girls’ Bathroom

If you want to see Democrat Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger dance, ask her opinion about allowing men in women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams. She has been tap-dancing around a straight answer for weeks. In a recent debate, when pressed, she said the decision is up to individuals and school districts.

A political gift in the news should have made it much easier for Spanberger to find clarity.  

An Arlington School Board allowed a sex offender to shower and dress in the girls’ pool locker room last year, WJLA TV’s Nick Minock reported on Thursday. As with many public schools, the pool and facilities are open to the public outside school hours. He also revealed that a current Arlington School Board member, when running for her school board position, had an empathetic email exchange with a male sex offender who used girls’ spaces at Arlington schools.

The Federalist asked Spanberger in an email if she supports trans-identifying, male sex offenders showering with young girls? And does she condemn the sympathetic emails between the sex offender and a school board member candidate?

Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears knows her position and is not ashamed to say it out loud: “Girls are girls, and boys are boys.” She will support policies that promote the separation of the sexes in sports and private areas.  

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‘Male pitcher’: Minnesota’s transgender radicalism lands state in violation of Title IX

The transgender radicalism in the state of Minnesota, run by Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, has landed the state in violation of federal law.

Officials there have been given 10 days by the Department of Education to comply with the federal Title IX statute or face a Department of Justice referral.

It’s because the state’s transgender agenda that infringes on the rights of girls has allowed a boy to be on a girls’ high school softball team.

The violation notice also confirmed that the state has let males into girls’ alpine skiing, girls’ Nordic skiing, girls’ lacrosse, girls’ track and field and girls’ volleyball teams.

“For too many years, Minnesota’s political leadership has found itself on the wrong side of justice, common sense, and the American people. Now the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League find themselves on the wrong side of Title IX by allowing males to compete in women’s sports,” explained Craig Trainor, the DOE acting assistant secretary of civil rights.

“The Trump Administration will not allow Minnesota or any other state to sacrifice the safety, fair treatment, and dignity of its female students to appease the false idols of radical gender ideology. Once an education program or entity takes federal funds, Title IX compliance becomes mandatory. And the federal government will hold Minnesota accountable until it recognizes that fact.”

The state was allowed 10 days to change its policies to comply with federal law.

A report from Fox News said it also must comply with President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order.

The determination of violation came from both the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Fired women’s coach saw male player ‘wink’ at opponent after endangering female teammate: lawsuit

San Jose State University committed employment and sex discrimination and retaliation by firing women’s volleyball associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose for exposing a secretly recruited male on the team, according to a new lawsuit by the Child and Parental Rights Campaign on her behalf against the California State University system.

“Punishing coaches for raising concerns about the fairness and integrity of women’s sports not only harms the individual advocate but also undermines the enforcement of Title IX’s mandate and has a chilling effect on those who seek to protect sex equality in collegiate athletics,” the suit says.

Batie-Smoose was suspended, then fired “not based on her job performance” – the suit includes her Feb. 28, 2024, reappointment letter – but “in direct retaliation for her opposition to sex discrimination and her advocacy for the fairness and equal access to programs, services, and activities for female athletes.”

She has “suffered and continues to suffer lost wages, loss of professional reputation and opportunities, emotional distress, and other damages,” and seeks reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages.

Batie-Smoose also wants an injunction against CSU to stop future, possible Title VII and Title IX violations and implement policies, training and monitoring to “protect advocacy for the statutory rights of female athletes” and prevent retaliation against employees for raising concerns about sex-based discrimination.

The university declined to comment other than acknowledging the lawsuit.

It’s been a long and winding journey for the ex-coach, whose home was shot at days before she spoke at a state Capitol rally in February for legislation pitched as protecting girls, women and parental rights, shortly after her firing. CPRC’s Vernadette Broyles told Just the News at the time “the wheels are spinning rapidly in this process” of litigation preparation.

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Vermont Christian School Reinstated After Being Banned for Refusing to Compete Against Trans Athlete

A federal appeals court has ruled in a favor of a Christian school in Vermont that was banned by state officials from participating in school competitions for refusing to play against a team with a transgender-identifying athlete. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order on September 9 overturning a lower court order and granting a preliminary injunction to Mid Vermont Christian School blocking the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) expulsion of the school as litigation goes on, Fox News reported. The panel of judges ruled that the school is “likely to succeed” on its Free Exercise claim because the VPA’s actions show “hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs.” 

In February of 2023, Mid Vermont’s girls basketball team “forfeited a playoff game against Long Trail School” after they found out “a transgender-identifying male student” was on the opposing team. Mid Vermont school officials said at the time that they were concerned about fairness and safety for their female players, according to the report.

A few weeks later, the VPA responded by expelling the Christian school from all state-sponsored sports, as well as non-athletic events such as science fairs and spelling bees.

Alliance Defending Freedom subsequently filed a lawsuit against state officials on behalf to the Christian school and one of its families. The lawsuit alleges that state officials punished the school for exercising its religious liberty, which is protected by the First Amendment.

VPA Executive Director Jay Nichols allegedly accused the school of “blatant discrimination under the guise of religious freedom” just two days after the school forfeited the game, according to court documents. The VPA’s appeals committee also called the school’s safety concerns a “myth” and labeled its religious objection “wrong,” the report states. 

“It is a myth that transgender students endanger others when they participate in high school sports or create unfair competition,” the committee wrote.

Head coach Chris Goodwin, who has held the position for almost a decade and whose daughter is a member of the team, told the outlet that the school’s decision was tough but necessary. 

“It’s clear in Scripture that there is a difference between males and females. So if we decided to play that game, in essence, we’d be agreeing with the state’s belief system that boys can be girls and male athletes can be female athletes,” he said.

Goodwin told the outlet his team had to drive several hours away to neighboring states to compete in a Christian league after the VPA’s decision, which resulted in athletes losing exposure and scholarship opportunities. 

“Athletics in high school and junior high is a really big part of the overall educational experience. So for that to be taken away from the kids was very disappointing, and for them to lose out on opportunities to be recognized in the state as all-state athletes or all-conference athletes and also have the possibility of receiving scholarships is a big deal. And they were denied that opportunity by the state,” he said.

David Cortman, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told the outlet the Second Circuit’s decision should set a precedent and protect other religious schools that face similar dilemmas. 

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Chicago Cubs Sued for Allegedly Using Facial Recognition on Fans Without Consent at Wrigley Field

A federal lawsuit filed in Illinois claims the Chicago Cubs and their security contractors used facial recognition technology on fans at Wrigley Field without following basic legal requirements under state privacy law.

The proposed class action, lodged on September 15, 2025, says the team and two private security firms captured biometric data without proper notice or permission.

The legal complaint names the Cubs alongside Blue Star Security, LLC and Security Services Holdings LLC, which operates under the name Protos Security.

We obtained a copy of the complaint for you here.

Together, they are accused of deploying facial recognition tools at Wrigley Field that scanned the faces of attendees without providing the written disclosures or obtaining the signed releases required by Illinois law.

The suit states that this happened to “millions of fans.”

Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), passed in 2008, sets out some of the most protective rules in the country when it comes to biometric data.

The statute prohibits the collection of biometric identifiers, like fingerprints or facial geometry, unless the person is informed in writing and gives signed authorization.

Lawsuits can be brought by individuals even if they haven’t suffered financial or emotional harm, a position backed by the Illinois Supreme Court in Rosenbach v. Six Flags.

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