Report: Knicks players in '80s fixed games for drug dealer

According to a report in New York Post, New York Knicks players fixed NBA games for drug dealers in the 1980's.

This information comes from FBI informants from the 1981-82 season who alleged that drug-addicted Knicks players fixed games as a favor to a dealer, who would then bet large amounts of money against them.

This information has come to light via FBI documents cited in a new book from Brian Tuohy, "Larceny Games: Sports Gambling, Game Fixing and the FBI."

The dealer was a degenerate gambler who usually bet $300 a game, informants told investigators, but in January 1982 he began laying $10,000 wagers on Knicks’ opponents — and winning them.

By March 25, the coke dealer had won six of his seven five-figure bets against the Knicks — while continuing to make his normal $300 wagers on other NBA games.

“Over . . . the last two months, all three [players] have given . . . tips on when to bet the Knicks to lose. This has occurred seven times and six of the tips were good,” according to FBI files citing two unnamed “sources.”

At the same time, FBI moles began to suspect the Knick trio were “betting against themselves.”

Investigations allegedly extended as far as 1986 but the FBI could not procure evidence or confessions, so the case was closed.

This is obviously a major story, even if it is 30 years in the past. It's worth noting that current NBA commissioner David Stern took over the job in February of 1984 and immediately began a mission to rid the NBA of drugs and the league's poor public image.