'Every Season Matters': Terry Rozier's Mother Asks a Judge to Let Him Play

Gina Tucker's argument to the judge was about time. Her son, Terry Rozier, has worked nearly his whole life to reach the NBA, she wrote, and an athlete's prime doesn't wait for a court case.

In a letter filed Wednesday, Tucker asked Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall whether conditions could be set that would let Rozier play basketball while still meeting every obligation of his case. Letting him play, she wrote, wouldn't change or lessen how serious the allegations are.

Rozier has pleaded not guilty to charges connected to an alleged betting scheme involving his stats in a March 23, 2023, game with the Charlotte Hornets. Miami waived him in April, and he's on indefinite leave from the NBA. His bail conditions keep him from contacting Heat or Hornets personnel and from leaving the continental U.S. In July the judge turned down his lawyers' request to change those terms so he could practice and play with potential witnesses. Trial starts Feb. 8, 2027.

Other players in similar spots have kept working. Jontay Porter, banned by the NBA in 2024 and awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty, signed with the USBL's Seattle SuperHawks in March. Antonio Blakeney, charged in a separate case involving NCAA athletes, is playing in Israel.