If you, like many sports fans, get your NBA news primarily from ESPN and Shams Charania, you likely believe the heavily scrutinized free agent guard Malik Beasley is out of the woods. Just before free agency started last month, news broke that Beasley was implicated in an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office into illicit gambling on the NBA.
Then suddenly, Charania popped up again last week with an update: Beasley was “no longer a target of the federal gambling investigation.” There was a breaking news post on ESPN’s social channels, a push alert from the app, and a story on the network’s website.
Breaking: Malik Beasley is no longer a target of the federal gambling investigation conducted by the Eastern District of New York, his attorneys Steve Haney and Mike Schachter told ESPN. This potentially reopens free agency for one of the NBA’s top shooters. pic.twitter.com/elbC09hprW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 22, 2025
Further reporting at other outlets outlined the reality of Beasley’s situation. At Front Office Sports, longtime NBA reporter Alex Schiffer cited a source with knowledge of the federal investigation who told him that Beasley is indeed still a “subject” of the U.S. attorney probe. The difference between Charania’s phrase, a “target,” and a “subject,” is largely technical.
That was backed up by subsequent coverage at the Detroit Free-Press, who quoted the same lawyers that Charania spoke with. Except in the Free-Press piece, the lawyers were pressed over Beasley’s future. Beasley’s lawyer, Steve Haney, told the Detroit newspaper that he had “no idea” if Beasley could ultimately be charged with a crime stemming from the investigation.
Yet on Beasley’s landing page on ESPN.com, Charania’s initial report is the most recent update. The story is largely focused on Beasley’s potential return to the NBA — as a result of his supposed bill of innocence.
This is the second time this summer that Charania’s reporting around the gambling probe has offered an incomplete picture at ESPN. Around the same time that he broke the news that Beasley was being investigated, Charania appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and was asked to provide an update on the status of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who was thought to have been implicated in the same investigation.
At that time, Charania stated that Rozier “has been cleared” in advance of an offseason in which he was expected to be a trade option for the Heat.
“Terry Rozier as of now has been cleared. He finished the season with Miami there’s nothing really active as of right now with him”
– Shams says Terry Rozier has been cleared for his betting scandal
(Via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/Sk8Ak7Y72r
— Heat Culture (@HeatCulture13) June 30, 2025
Quickly, three separate NBA reporters clarified that Rozier was still under investigation by the feds. Charania’s claims appeared to be specific to a separate NBA investigation that had not found evidence of wrongdoing by Rozier.
Asked by Awful Announcing whether ESPN planned to offer a fuller recounting of Beasley’s and Rozier’s legal status, ESPN wrote in a statement that, “We don’t publicly discuss ongoing reporting.”
A separate investigation into point shaving in college basketball by U.S. Attorneys at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is nearing indictments, per Sports Illustrated. Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA for life over cooperation with a sports gambling operation, is set for sentencing in December.
With multiple active federal investigations and criminal punishments coming regularly, the stakes are high for an NBA reporter like Charania to be accurate and complete with his reporting. So far, the ESPN reporter’s track record has been spotty around this still-unfolding saga.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.