The unblinking gaze of social media spotted the Instagram post immediately. And the unyielding snark spewed forth.
The Seattle SuperHawks, a franchise in the semi-professional United States Basketball League, was trumpeting its roster signings for the new season set to tip on March 7, when a familiar and completely unexpected player popped into the feed: Jontay Porter.
As in Jontay Porter, the man who pleaded guilty in 2024 on a felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after working with gamblers to tank props bets that year, was banned for life from the NBA, and awaits sentencing that could imprison him for up to four years.
In a statement to the Associated Press, the USBL said it believes in second chances.
“While Jontay fully acknowledges the consequences of his actions, he has demonstrated genuine remorse and a strong commitment to personal growth,” the statement read. “The USBL and the SuperHawks are united in offering him the chance to continue his basketball journey, both as an athlete and as an example of how redemption can take shape through accountability and hard work.”
The USBL and SuperHawks management, including owner Pierre Crockrell, a former player agent, did not respond to interview requests from InGame.
Betting on what, exactly?
No sportsbook contacted by InGame has ever offered or plans to offer betting on the USBL, an eight-team West Coast circuit of franchises that play in high school and small college arenas to minuscule crowds. The integrity concerns surrounding a professed gambling addict and convicted game-manipulator therefore are not applicable, at least in the legal market. But in a nation where fans are increasingly skeptical about the purity of sports, questions arise about what kind of product the USBL wishes to present, especially for teams reliant on the goodwill of small local fanbases.
“I think it’s super risky,” Rick Burton, a professor emeritus at the Syracuse University Falk College of Sport, told InGame. “There have been a lot of bad behaviors over the years in professional sports, but kind of the most serious crime, the one that risks team operators, is gambling. If the public doesn’t believe in the integrity of the games, it’s bad business all the way around.”
Burton, the commissioner of the National Basketball League in Australia from 2003-2007, said “there’s no way I go near this.”
“The individuals that will be associated with staging it — the USBL commissioner, and the USBL head of sponsorship — at some level, may be putting their careers at risk, if this thing goes really sideways fast,” he said. “But you have to assume somebody calculated the risk, met with their legal team, and said, ‘OK, what’s the worst that could happen? We back away from this or that he plays one game and is suddenly declared ineligible? But we ended up with $20 million of free publicity and that is what we needed for people to know that we exist again.’
“I just wonder whether or not someone said, ‘Hey, this isn’t sustainable unless we get a massive lift.'”
While the USBL espouses second-chance narratives, this isn’t “Shoeless” Joe Jackson playing out his post-“Black Sox” days with the Waycross Coast Liners. While he and Porter were each banned from the highest level of their profession, Porter, unlike Jackson, is likely to be imprisoned for his trangressions.
Dr. Brandon Mastromartino, the director of the Institute on Sports Wagering and Gaming at San Diego State University, agreed that redemption is a noble venture, but he finds the SuperHawks’ decision “really strange.”
“I saw the statement, that they’re a place where people can redeem themselves and show learning and growth,” he told InGame, “which could be all well and good, but this particular crime that he’s convicted of, throwing sports matches, it’s just not good for your specific business.
“Because it’s not like another type of crime that he might’ve committed. It’s specifically throwing sporting events.”
(Specifically, Porter removed himself from games with supposed injuries so his individual player prop unders would hit, which is related to but not quite the same as throwing games.)
USBL needs a boost after schism
The recently volatile business climate of minor league basketball may have created the fertile environment for such a high-risk signing. The USBL, founded in 1985 and active through 2008, bills itself as a starting point for the talented and dogged. The original version featured eventual NBA players like Muggsy Bogues, Manute Bol, Spud Webb, Anthony Mason, Raja Bell, Darrell Armstrong, Mario Elie, and Avery Johnson, and novelty acts like NFL player Randy Moss, and boxer Roy Jones, Jr. Current teams are generally filled by older players who’ve bounced around various developmental leagues.
Most of the teams in the current USBL played in The Basketball League last season, but 15 franchises defected this summer to start anew in a different league. Many of those peeled off, a source told InGame, when Seattle’s ownership pushed a business model including cryptocurrency, with which they were uncomfortable. That breakaway league, which starts its season next week, is currently conducting a fan vote to rename itself. An owner in the new league told InGame that they would not have supported the signing of Porter.
“There have been not a lot of athletes with what somebody might call baggage still being used in advertising or endorsement situations,” Burton said.Â
The current USBL is composed of eight teams based in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Mastromartino agreed that the signing could be a play for publicity before the SuperHawks opener at Royal Brougham Pavilion against the Lilac City Legends.
“The impression I got is this is for the news to gain attention about how their league is coming back,” he said. “I bet there’s a lot of people that never heard of that league. I didn’t even know the league was coming back. I just assume that they’re doing it sort of for the free publicity, which seems to be kind of working because this is a big news story.”
What’s in it for Porter?
If locals are willing to pay the $15 ticket fee, the gamble will be worthwhile for the SuperHawks. It might be less so for Porter if most of them came to heckle.
But Porter, who as a two-way NBA player averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game in 37 games over two seasons, could very well be a USBL superstar until his sentencing date arrives. Regardless, every imperfect moment will be scrutinized and editorialized.
“If Jontay doesn’t go to jail, this athlete might draw crowds,” Burton said. “Because he previously was elite enough to be NBA caliber, this athlete might be a superstar. He could dominate, and maybe with the right kind of buzz, people would want to come out and see such a such a player. I think it’s fraught with risk, but that’s about all I could come up with on why they might want to take a chance.”
While there would seemingly be a tangible loss of reputation possible for the USBL, Porter, Mastromartino said, may as well go do what he, as a pro athlete, likely feels was his destiny. He attempted to play professionally in Greece after his conviction, but a federal judge denied his request.
“He’s probably in a spot where he’s got nothing left to lose,” Mastromartino said. “Is it just sit at home and wait around, or try your best out there and resume your career in basketball, assuming that’s sort of his way to make a living? I’m not sure what they’re paying him or how they’re paying him, or if they are or what that looks like.
“So from his perspective, maybe there’s another additional spotlight on him, more heat on him, but again, what does he have to lose? It’s sort of his last kick at the can.”
