Article by David Istrate – published on Friday, August 22, 2025, 15:46 / Updated Friday, August 22, 2025 15:46
At the end of June, Shams Charania, ESPN journalist, announced that Malik Beasley, a basketball player who had an excellent 2024-2025 season, is being investigated by an American prosecutor, being suspected of being involved in illegal bets.
Malik Beasley has not been charged, incriminated or convicted and may resume discussions for a new contract
At that time, the 28 -year -old athlete was in advanced discussions with Detroit Pistons and was close to a 3 -seasons contract worth $ 42 million. Steve Haney, Beasley's lawyer, stated for the publication mentioned above that “an investigation is not an accusation” and that his client must benefit from the presumption of innocence.
According to David Purdum, an ESPN journalist, at least one betting agency has identified an increased interest in Beasley's statistics, starting January 2024.
However, 2 months after the start of the investigation, the American player is no longer a target and can resume discussions for a new contract in season 2025-2026.
“On Monday after the investigation started, Malik remains unpainted and is not the target of the investigation. A statement without accusation, incrimination or conviction should never have the catastrophic consequence that existed in Malik's case. Was literally the opposite of the presumption of innocence“, Haney said, quoted by ESPN.
In recent weeks, Beasley's representatives have kept in touch with several teams interested in his status.
Malik Beasley played in the 2015-2016 season for Florida State, after which he was selected in the first round, with the 19th choice, in NBA, by Denver Nuggets. Throughout his career, the 1.93-meter player has evolved for Minnesota Timberwolves (2020-2022), Utah Jazz (2022-2023), Los Angeles Lakers (2023) and Milwaukee Bucks (2023-2024), before reaching Detroit Pistons.
This week was found that the North American Basketball League and the NBA players' union (NBPA) joined their forces and support Adopting restrictive measures regarding the types of betting that can be put on the matches in this competitionas a reaction to the abuses to which basketball players and recent cases of athletes who have helped the illegal betting industry
