The NBA world was thrown for a massive loop on Thursday when Heat guard Terry Rozier, Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and ex-NBA player Damon Jones were all arrested in connection with a wide-ranging gambling probe spearheaded by the FBI.
News of the arrests broke early in the morning, around which time ESPN's Get Up typically airs. So, naturally, the story made it onto the broadcast.
But during said broadcast, eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice that the bottom ticker—where ESPN typically shows live scores, ads and more—disappeared as the hosts discussed the investigation. Among the information on that ticker? An ad for ESPN Bet, the network's sportsbook. Whoops!
Watch it disappear below, around the 0:20 second mark:
ESPN slick removed the sports ticker that was showing their betting site during this segment about the FBI investigations 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/xBQsHqUYaf
— A ✩ (@adryanashton) October 23, 2025
We suppose there is no way to know definitively why the ad disappeared, but the timing is suspect. That said, it was still probably the right move given the optics of the whole situation.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gambling Ad Disappears From ESPN Ticker As 'Get Up' Hosts Discuss FBI Investigation.
