Business manager: Antonio Gates 'not involved' in rigged poker game

Denise White, the business manager representing Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates, denied allegations he hosted and played in a fixed poker game organized by Curtis Meeks.

Meeks was indicted by federal investigators last week along with Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and others with mafia ties for allegedly using high-profile athletes to lure well-funded players to poker games with the intention of profiting from the outcome they assured using technological tools.

Investigative journalist Pablo Torre, who broke the story alleging Clippers owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap to pad Kawhi Leonard's earnings by $28 million, reported Sunday that his sources claimed Gates was one of the prominent hosts of the poker games that were part of the sting.

Meeks, 41, was arrested in Texas last week and prosecutors accused him of helping "provide cheating technology to participants in the scheme." Authorities said victims were cheated out of over $7 million since 2019.

White denied the report alleging that Gates hosted a rigged poker game in Miami in a short statement on Monday afternoon.

"Antonio Gates has not been involved nor has he been accused of any wrongdoing," the statement read. "Assertions to the contrary are false and without merit. There will be no further comments on this matter."

Gates, 45, was not mentioned in multiple indictments unsealed last week in Brooklyn. He isn't known to be under investigation and hasn't been publicly accused by authorities of a crime.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August and received his Hall of Fame ring in a ceremony before the Chargers' Oct. 19 game in Los Angeles.

Gates is from Detroit and played basketball at Kent State as a junior and senior in 2001 and 2002. The Detroit Pistons acquired Billups in 2002. Billups entered the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, but participated in the 2022 ceremony when Gates was also inducted.

--Field Level Media