Jontay Porter’s request to play basketball in Greece after receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA has been denied by a judge. The 24-year-old entered a guilty plea last week for his role in a betting scandal that saw him intentionally exit games early.
Porter had an agreement with Promitheas Patras B.C., which plays in Europe’s Basketball Champions League and the Greek Basket League. Federal Judge LeShann DeArcy Hall denied the request despite neither the US Attorney’s Office nor the US pretrial services objecting. Porter wanted to get back his passport so he could travel to Europe with his pregnant wife and live there.
continue getting gambling addiction treatment while in Greece
His legal team claimed that the overseas basketball wouldn’t get in the way of any legal obligations and his prospective team was on board if he urgently needed to return to the US. Porter also clarified he would continue receiving gambling addiction treatment while in Greece and believed that the opportunity would likely not arise again.
The sentencing in his case takes place on December 18; the former Toronto Raptor could face more than four years in prison. Four other people were charged as part of the case.