Many fans and pundits jumped to conclusions about Malik Beasley when it was reported he was under investigation for gambling and were just as quick to declare him innocent when reports emerged that the investigation was over, but it turns out they may have reacted too soon (again), as Beasley is not out of the woods yet.
Shams Charania, who is essentially the mouthpiece for the league and the face of its media for ESPN, first reported that Beasley was no longer the “target” of a federal investigation, which makes it seem as though he’d been declared innocent and cleared.
But that language was a bit misleading, as Beasley is still considered a “subject” of that investigation according to Mike Scotto of HoopsRumors among others. Charania didn’t add the last part, making it seem as if Beasley had been completely cleared, which is not the case.
According to Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports, here is the distinction between being a “target” and a “subject”: "a subject of an investigation is defined by the Department of Justice as “a person whose conduct is within the scope of the grand jury’s investigation,” whereas a target is someone who “has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant.”
Instead of making this distinction, the reports focused on the possibility of Beasley returning to the league and Pistons fans focused on whether he’d be back in Detroit.
But Beasley has not been cleared yet, which does raise some concerning questions about how this whole thing was reported.
Was the NBA trying to downplay gambling cases, including Malik Beasley’s?
I am not into conspiracies, but I do find it interesting that this is the second time ESPN and the NBA have misled about gambling investigations, the first being Terry Rozier, who they also falsely claimed was cleared even though he is still part of a gambling investigation.
The NBA has openly embraced legal gambling in recent years, something that many were concerned about given its possible disastrous effects on gamblers, as well as the integrity of the league.
As it turns out, those concerns may have been well founded, but don’t tell the NBA or ESPN.
The league is now raking in hundreds of millions in endorsement deals from legal gambling sites, ask the Pistons, who play on the FanDuel Sports Network. Updates on betting lines are now common during games and ESPN has its very own sportsbook.
So, I don’t think it’s a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory to think these two mega-corporations might have some vested interested in downplaying negative gambling stories.
Even if this wasn't the intent, the reports left out key information and may have given false hope to Pistons fans who were hoping to see Beasley back in Detroit soon.