Last October, a friend called me at 6.30 am to demand I read the latest sports news on ESPN. I had already read it. The sports media complex had been informed that numerous NBA players and coaches would be arrested for illegal sports betting.
It was as if I had become Nostradamus. He and others who had read my 2025 copyrighted manuscript asked me, “How did I know?” I didn’t.
That part was easy. When I began putting the story boards together at the beginning of 2024, various sports media had already begun publishing stories about potential corruption in the NBA. It wouldn’t take a genius to connect the dots between the explosive growth of sports gambling and potentially, a blistering gambling scandal.
Since 2024, there has been a rash of highly publicized betting scandals involving the NBA. Raptors’ player Jontay Porter received a lifetime suspension for disclosing confidential info. In October 2025, former NBA players Terry Rozier, Damon Jones and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups were caught up in a federal investigation involving alleged Mafia ties and high tech cheating in illegal poker games.
In 1951, a similar college point shaving scandal involving professional players was exposed. My fictional story includes a reference to the Dixie Classic in Raleigh NC, when in 1961, numerous players directed by organized crime were caught shaving points. In October 2025, the NCAA announced it had opened an investigation into various outcomes involving thirty current or former players.
Of course, we have been inundated with gambling revelations of other sports including professional and college baseball, college football, international soccer and even women’s professional tennis.
Now add the wildly successful introduction of online gambling to the masses and the storyline of THE FIXER was born.
In the coming weeks, I will write about the evolution of the story, how the locales for the book were selected, character development and the rollercoaster ride of adding the twists and turns to the plot.
Hope you enjoy reading THE FIXER. I invite you to join the conversation and write your thoughts and insights.