The NBA’s gambling scandal not only shook the league but also drew Washington into the conversation. And when Capitol Hill calls, the expectation is simple: the big names show up. However, on November 6, as the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee opened its first round of questions, two glaring absences set the tone before a single word was spoken.

According to ESPN, instead of Adam Silver or deputy commissioner Mark Tatum fielding the heat, the league sent attorneys and a gambling specialist to a staff-level meeting. There were no lawmakers, no top brass, no cameras. Just an hour-long, closed-door session laying out the NBA’s ongoing response to a widening illegal betting mess – a mess triggered by federal indictments against Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones.

That’s

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