NBA, Hornets Seek No-Contact Rule for Terry Rozier

Federal prosecutors filed a motion Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York asking the court to maintain a no-contact condition that prevents Terry Rozier from communicating with team personnel while he remains on bond.

The filing says the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets support keeping Rozier from contacting ‘victims or witnesses, co-defendants or co-conspirators’ except in the presence of counsel or for non-case family communications.

Rozier, 32, has pleaded not guilty to counts that include sports bribery, honest services fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. He is scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 8. Prosecutors allege he accepted a $100,000 payment to influence his performance in a March 23, 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, leaving after about nine minutes with an injury while alleged co-conspirators won bets on several ‘unders’ prop wagers.

The government told the court that allowing Rozier to resume his NBA career would place him in settings-shootarounds, treatment rooms, a chapel and corridors near locker rooms-where he could come into contact with people the no-contact order is meant to protect. The filing notes LaMelo Ball is the only player from the 2022-23 Hornets roster still with the team; the coaching staff and front office have changed since that season.

Prosecutors wrote they have evidence Rozier attempted to contact a potential witness by text and used an intermediary to reach another person, raising concerns about possible witness tampering as the trial date approaches.

The filing says the government would accept narrowing the no-contact restriction to a list of specific members of the 2023 Hornets organization, but it opposes any communication with non-family witnesses outside the presence of counsel.

Through attorney Jim Trusty, Rozier asked the court to lift the blanket no-contact restriction so he can return to playing. The defense argued the provision ‘preclude[s] Mr. Rozier from participating in his chosen profession as an NBA player’ and called it ‘unfairly punitive.’ The defense filing also accused the league and the Miami Heat of using bond conditions to try to keep Rozier from playing.

Rozier was arrested in October while on the Miami Heat roster; the Heat released him in April and he is currently unsigned. In May, an arbitrator ruled that Rozier should not receive the bulk of a $26.6 million contract for the 2025-26 season because his bail restrictions would prevent him from meeting contractual obligations.

U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall has asked the NBA and Rozier’s former employer to submit views on his request to speak with league officials and Hornets staff. The league and the Hornets did not file a separate public statement in the court docket.