Federal Prosecutors Allege Terry Rozier Accepted Bribe to Exit Hornets Game Early

The Terry Rozier situation has taken another serious turn.

Federal prosecutors allege that former Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier agreed to accept a payment worth roughly $100,000 from a sports gambler to remove himself early from a game between the Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023, according to The Athletic.

Rozier, who was playing for Charlotte at the time, left that game in the first quarter and didn't return. He finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in 9 minutes and 34 seconds. For context, Rozier entered that night averaging more than 21 points and 35 minutes per game for the Hornets.

The new allegations were included in a superseding indictment filed last week by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors allege that Rozier told a friend he would leave the game early, and the friend subsequently shared that nonpublic information with bettors. Prosecutors add that Rozier had been playing through a lower leg injury, but allegedly used that injury as the reason to exit the game after the plan had already been shared.

One of the gamblers connected to the case pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts in the broader NBA gambling investigation. In court, that person said, "I agreed to pay a player to change their game performance." A federal prosecutor clarified that the player was Rozier, according to The Athletic.

Rozier's Response

Rozier's attorney, Jim Trusty, denied the allegations.

"There are some desperate men in this case with terrible criminal records and tons of exposure, and they know what to say to please these prosecutors," Trusty said Thursday, via The Athletic.

Rozier has pleaded not guilty to the original charges filed against him in October. He is also awaiting a ruling on a motion to dismiss those charges after his legal team argued that the government is relying on a fraud theory affected by the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Ciminelli v. United States.

The superseding indictment adds two new felony counts against Rozier: bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy, as the Associated Press reported. Rozier had already been facing wire fraud-related charges tied to the investigation.

How It Affects the Hornets

The case has been a long-running headache for the Hornets, even with Rozier no longer on the roster. The original investigation centered on that March 2023 game in New Orleans, when unusual betting activity was flagged around Rozier's player props. At the time, the NBA said it had investigated the matter and did not find a violation of league rules, but federal investigators later continued digging.

Charlotte traded Rozier to Miami in January 2024 in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a protected 2027 first-round pick. Earlier this year, the Hornets sent a 2026 second-round pick to Miami to resolve a dispute connected to the Rozier trade and whether Miami had been properly informed about the investigation before completing the deal.

Rozier never played for the Heat during the 2025-26 season after being arrested the morning after Miami's season opener. The NBA placed him on unpaid administrative leave, though the NBPA filed a grievance and an arbitrator later ruled that Rozier should receive his $26.6 million salary. Miami waived him in April.

The latest filing does not accuse the Hornets of wrongdoing. But it does put one of the strangest and most damaging postscript chapters in recent franchise history back in the spotlight.

For Charlotte, the basketball side of the Rozier era has been over for more than two years. The legal side, however, clearly is not.

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