ESPN is fueled by the NBA and sportsbooks. Then came a scandal.

As news broke Thursday that federal agents had arrested an NBA coach and player as part of a sprawling investigation into gambling, Mike Greenberg, host of ESPN’s morning show “Get Up,” prepared viewers for the network’s wall-to-wall coverage of a scandal.

First, though, he wanted to acknowledge something.

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“[Gambling] was something networks like ESPN would stay far away from,” Greenberg said. “Those days are obviously long behind us.”

As he spoke, a scroll at the bottom of the screen advertised a promotion from the network-branded sportsbook, ESPN Bet, offering customers the chance to wager $10 and receive $100 more in promotional bets. By the time he finished his thought, the ad had disappeared.

Such was the start to a day of coverage by the country’s most dominant sports media brand and the NBA’s most important broadcast partner, which rushed to cover the arrests of Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups (who has worked for ESPN) and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.

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Billups was charged with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy for his alleged role in a mob-backed poker scheme. Rozier was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a second case focused on NBA insiders feeding information to bettors. Billups was implicated but not named in that case.

ESPN wasn’t alone in its awkward handling of a scandal fueled, in part, by widespread legalized sports betting. From cable television to podcasts to digital media including The Washington Post, sports media is flooded with advertisements for sportsbooks.

“Everyone is in bed with the sports betting companies … We’re all complicit,” NBA analyst Zach Lowe said on his podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel.

But nowhere is this tightrope walk more obvious than on ESPN. Despite several rounds of layoffs that have cut reporters as the company pivots toward a digital future, Chairman Jimmy Pitaro likes to say the network remains the outlet of record for the biggest sports news.

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There were moments Thursday when ESPN delivered on that promise. There were also low points, including that disappearing ESPN Bet promo. (A person with knowledge of what happened, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the show’s producers were trying to be cautious around the discussion of a sensitive topic.)

Six years ago, ESPN canceled “Outside the Lines,” its once-daily afternoon platform to examine thorny off-field sports issues. Before that, ESPN observers were accustomed to legal analysts like Lester Munson and Roger Cossack weighing in on cases like this. They could explain to viewers what the indictment means, the legal process, how the players might defend themselves or how the government might prosecute a case like this.

ESPN does not miss their contributions every day. But on Thursday it did, starting on its flagship morning show, “First Take.”

A few hours after the news broke, Stephen A. Smith, a star commentator who recently signed a long-term contract worth around $100 million, looked directly into the camera and launched into a take.

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“How many times, for one incident after another, have I said, ‘[President] Trump is coming’? He’s coming,” Smith began. “I’m going to say it on national television again. Bad Bunny is performing at the Super Bowl and all of a sudden you hearing ICE is gonna be there looking to engage in mass deportations. … Big night for the NBA, Wembanyama put on a show, that has now been smeared because we’re talking about this story.”

Smith told his fellow panelists that Trump could have his eye on the WNBA, an outspokenly progressive league, next.

Trump is coming, Smith continued, “because in his eyes, folks tried to throw him in jail. … He’s not playing. … Talk to people in the NBA. Talk to people in the NFL. … They think this is the tip of the iceberg.”

ESPN’s leading NBA reporter, Shams Charania, who broke much of the story in the morning and is also a former paid contributor FanDuel, chimed in that “it was a little jarring” when he heard FBI Director Kash Patel was involved in the investigation. Charania then noted that an investigation into NBA players had been going on since at least 2023.

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Whatever Trump’s plans or ambitions, the years’ long NBA investigation started before he took office for the second time.

Patel later responded to Smith: “I’m the FBI director,” he told Laura Ingraham on Fox News. “I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct. That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C.”

The highlight of the network’s coverage came several hours after “First Take,” on an hour-long episode of “NBA Today.” That show began with host Chiney Ogwumike interviewing ABC chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky, who cogently walked through the specifics of the indictments.

Katersky then discussed the origins of the case, which began with another NBA player, Jontay Porter, telling viewers that he may have given authorities information that led to Thursday’s arrests. More charges may be filed related to the investigation into the illegal, mob-affiliated poker games, he added.

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Veteran NBA reporter Brian Windhorst then capably explained the stakes for the NBA: “The league has to deal with the indictment that deals with the integrity of its games. That is what is important.”

He added that the NBA will have to explain how they looked into Terry Rozier’s connection to rigging prop bets but then cleared him to play.

Windhorst then explained how and when information about a game could be leaked. He described the hours between when teams know things about player injuries or availability and when the public learns that information. The league has tightened rules around disclosing player availability since sports gambling was legalized, he said, but there are still gaps.

“It’s what bettors have tried to get access to for a long time,” he said.

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NBA reporter Tim Bontemps then offered solid analysis of the Portland Trail Blazers’ situation with Billups gone and gambling reporter David Payne Purdum gave viewers more context about the betting angle of the story. Finally, Kendrick Perkins delivered a players’ perspective. (Charania provided insights into the league’s reaction, too, a more comfortable lane for him.)

It was the kind of marshaling of a wide range of resources and expertises – buoyed, no doubt, by an army of reporters and producers processing the hundreds of pages from the indictments – that gave viewers a larger understanding of the case, with Ogwumike deftly quarterbacking the hour.

More pointed analysis came later in the day, too. Tony Kornheiser, on “Pardon the Interruption,” addressed two important topics: He noted all major sports entities now encourage people to gamble, “including this network with ESPN.” He then questioned how the NBA had cleared Rozier to play, suggesting it could be a lack of rigor in the NBA’s own investigation or, as Rozier’s lawyer said, that he was being unjustly targeted.

Later, ahead of Thursday night’s NBA action, “Inside the NBA” appeared for only the second time on the network, amid questions about whether the Emmy-winning show would maintain its independence and voice on ESPN. Panelists Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith answered those questions with a spirited back and forth about what makes a player want to fix games.

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Smith suggested there was an element of addiction involved.

Barkley, a famously avid sports bettor, disagreed, saying the NBA dropped the ball in its Rozier investigation.

“This ain’t got nothing to do with addiction,” he said. “These dudes are stupid. Under no circumstances can you fix basketball games. I love to gamble!”

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