A key component in the federal government’s case against Terry Rozier is the allegation that he faked an injury in a game on March 23, 2023. As the indictment phrases it, “Rozier informed the defendant De’Niro Laster that Rozier was going to prematurely remove himself from the game in the first quarter due to a supposed injury and not return to play further.”
Rozier’s lawyer Jim Trusty says the claim is “absurd” because Rozier missed out on money from his shoe deal by missing games.
“Terry Rozier had a $100 million contract and a big shoe endorsement. This indictment actually suggests that he faked the injury, which is absurd. People knew about it. Medical people knew about it. Staff knew about it. Friends knew about it. This was a guy who was banged up after a long 82-game season,” Trusty said Tuesday on The Will Cain Show on Fox News.
“And so when he sat that game and the next five or six games to end the season, he actually lost money. I mean, it’s so contradictory to this kind of sexy gambling story. He lost money on his shoe contract because he didn’t play enough games because, like a lot of NBA starters, by game 70, he’s got all sorts of issues.”
Rozier exited the March 23, 2023 game between the Hornets and Pelicans in the first quarter and did not return. He went on to miss the final 8 games of the 2022–23 season.
According to the indictment, Rozier, who was arrested Thursday, provided inside information about his status to several defendants for the purpose of placing illegal bets.
The indictment also said that “Hornets officials were not aware” of his plan to exit the game.
In a clarifying statement to Front Office Sports, Trusty said the shoe deal paid Rozier based on the number of games he played.
“I can’t put every single little factual defense out there in full. But he had a major shoe company that pro-rated the contract in terms of number of games, and he lost a significant amount of money by sitting out the last 5-6 games of that season,” Trusty said in an email.
Rozier had a shoe deal with Puma until the end of the 2022–23 season, though the financial details of the deal are not known.
The following season, Rozier exclusively wore Nike shoes, then wore Skechers for all but two games last season, according to KixStats.
Puma and Skechers did immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is unclear in the indictment whether Rozier actually received any money from the alleged sports betting scheme, only that defendants Marves Fairley and De’Niro Laster counted their money at Rozier’s home in Charlotte on April 1, 2023.
The indictment does not indicate the amount of money that was won by the multiple defendants and co-conspirators who allegedly placed bets on Rozier’s unders. It lists eight separate instances of betting, some of which were straight bets and some parlay bets on Rozier unders, with a total handle of $265,300.
When asked point blank by Cain if Rozier had given any inside information about his availability for the purpose of illegal betting, Trusty was unequivocal.
“Yes, that’s an easy one to answer. It’s an absolute not. Never happened,” Trusty said. “I think the prosecution basically knows it, but they liked the idea of having him as a trophy in this case to kind of mirror the bigger case with Chauncey Billups. And I hope over time they will start to realize maybe a little bit of buyer’s remorse. They bit off more than they can chew.”
