Jontay Porter, Banned from NBA for Life Over Betting Scandal, Will Play in Relaunched United States Basketball League

NEED TO KNOW

• Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life in 2024 for sports betting
• He will now play for the United States Basketball League's Seattle Superhawks beginning on March 7
• Porter was previously denied a request to play professionally overseas

Former Toronto Raptors two-way player Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA for life after being involved in sports betting in 2024, is making a comeback to pro basketball, this time playing for the United States Basketball League.

Porter, 26, will play for the USBL’s Seattle Superhawks beginning on March 7, The Athleticreports. “I am just trying to do what I can to provide for my family,” Porter told the outlet amid the news that he would return to the sport. The USBL is a pro basketball league that recently re-launched for the first time since 2008.

Porter is currently awaiting sentencing on criminal charges related to the scandal. He attempted to play overseas for Promitheas B.C., a Greek professional team, but his request to play overseas was denied by a federal judge, per The Athletic.

The NBA announced the 24-year-old Porter's lifetime ban for violating the league's betting rules in an April 2024 statement.

"A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more game for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games," the NBA said at the time.

The investigation centered around a Raptors game on March 20 in which Porter, whose brother is Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., reportedly "disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor," per the NBA.

The league added that "another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sports book, to win $1.1 million, wagering that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The investigation also found that Porter allegedly "placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate's online betting account" from January through March 2024 while traveling with the Raptors and its associated G-League team, Raptors 905.

Read the original article on People