Banned NBA player Porter seeks to play in Greece

Banned NBA player Jontay Porter, who last week pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to an NBA betting scandal, is requesting permission from a federal judge to move to Greece and play basketball professionally there.

In court documents filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York, attorneys for Porter asked to modify his release to allow him to play for Promitheas BC in the Greek Basketball League and Champions League in Europe.

Porter is scheduled to be sentenced in New York on Dec. 18. His attorneys wrote that his overseas plans would not interfere with any of his legal obligations and that Promitheas BC officials are aware that Porter could be called back to the United States “at a moment’s notice.”

In a letter to Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall, Porter’s attorneys asked for his U.S. passport to be returned and for permission to travel in Europe and reside in Patras, Greece, with his wife and the baby they are expecting. The request is unopposed by the United States attorney’s office and the United States pretrial services officer, according to the document.

Porter would continue his treatment plan for gambling addiction while overseas, and the team is making opportunities available for in-person counseling in Greece, according to the filing.

Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court on July 10 for his role in a betting scandal involving prop bets on his statistics in two games this past season. He was banned from the NBA in April and could face from 3½ to over four years in prison.

Four men also have been charged in the case.