FBI director Kash Patel didn’t mince words this week when he took aim at sportscaster Stephen A. Smith over the analyst’s public speculation about who was really behind a sweeping federal crackdown on illegal gambling.
Smith had suggested that President Donald Trump was orchestrating arrests in the sports world, which includes the arrest of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, as part of a retribution campaign.
According to Smith, the WNBA might even be next on Trump’s target list. But Patel left no doubt: Smith’s theory was dead wrong.
The clash unfolded during Patel’s appearance on The Ingraham Angle, hosted by Laura Ingraham, where he was asked to respond to Smith’s claims. Patel didn’t hold back.
He branded the statements as “the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history”, and reminded viewers that the FBI, under his leadership, makes arrests based on criminal investigations, not political agendas.
Patel emphasized that he personally directed the operation that resulted in more than 30 arrests across multiple states in a sweeping case involving wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery and illegal gambling. He made it clear: this was a law-enforcement matter, not a political statement.
Story behind the arrests
Patel laid out a complex investigation that spanned multiple jurisdictions and targeted both insider sports betting schemes and mafia-backed poker operations. Among those charged: Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat, along with more than 30 others tied to major New York mafia families.
According to authorities, the scheme involved athletes or ex-athletes providing inside information or acting as “face cards” in rigged poker games using high-tech cheating devices, all funneled through organized-crime networks.
Smith’s original suggestion tied these arrests to what he called a Trump administration “statement” to sports leagues that have protested the former president , and warned that the WNBA could be next. But Patel flatly rejected that narrative: “I’m the FBI director. I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct.”
In making his case, Patel stressed the investigation had been underway for years, driven by traditional law-enforcement methods. He said the public should understand the focus wasn’t on protests or political motives, but criminal misconduct.
Ultimately, Patel’s message was blunt: despite influencer-style commentary and speculation, the arrests are not part of a political revenge tour – they’re the result of crimes committed. He dismissed Smith’s theory as sensationalist rather than factual, and emphasized the FBI’s role as regulator and enforcer, not partisan actor.
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