After the egregious betting scandal in the NBA, investigators dug into the NCAA and found something similar. Players from three different schools, New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State, and Arizona State, were involved in separate schemes related to point shaving, leading to a major uproar regarding the normalization of betting.  In the same vein, a clip regarding the arrest of a player named Allen Benjamin during a college game has been making the rounds on the internet. 

Six former Division I men’s basketball players were deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA earlier this month, after investigators found they attempted to fix games. And former New Orleans guard Cedquavious “Dae Dae” Hunter revealed his personal reason on Good Morning America. “I just had a child, and the school wasn’t paying me money,” Hunter said, “so I was trying to get money to actually take care of my child.” 

Since 6 were already deemed ineligible by the NCAA (per their release), people doubt there could be many more amongst the thousands of players in men’s and women’s circuits across Divisions I, II, and III. It doesn’t help that 14 people were charged in a gambling scheme in New Jersey that involves college athletics, according to local law enforcement. So, this background makes the video of the in-game arrest of a player believable. Let’s fact-check the viral video.  

Was That On‑Court ‘Arrest’ of a College Basketball Star Even Real?

In the video, the arrested player is yelling the name Allen Benjamin and that the police caught them. The 10-second-long clip has been shared by multiple users across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The post features a caption saying, “Gambling basketball player gets arrested 😮” without any other details. The person seen arrested in the video is heard screaming, “Allen Benjamin! They’re coming, gang. They got us! Allen Benjamin! It’s over! That gambling s*** over with, on God.”

Well, this video is a realistic work of AI. The players in the background are suspiciously robotic. The crowd looks uninterested in the supposed arrest. There is no background noise, and the statement is the only thing heard. The phone that appears in the frame does not exist, as it does not have a brand or a hole punch. There are no credible reports of a college basketball player getting arrested mid-game related to the gambling scheme. In addition, there is no evidence of any current or past NCAA men’s or women’s basketball player named “Allen Benjamin.”

Could Authorities Really Haul a College Player Off the Court?

Yes, legally, it’s possible. If authorities already have an arrest warrant tied to a gambling scheme, or if they believe a felony gambling or fraud offence is actively being committed and delay would risk escape or loss of evidence, they could execute the arrest even while the player is on the floor. In practice, however, it’s not generally carried out on the court. The authorities carry out such actions away from the court to maintain crowd control. 

For example, in the Terry Rozier case, he was arrested at an Orlando hotel. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in Portland, Oregon, the day after the Blazers’ season‑opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, not during the game itself. Even in the case of college athletes being a part of a sports betting scheme in New Jersey, the athletes were charged away from the sports arenas. These cases tell one that even in high‑profile betting probes, authorities execute arrests away from the court, which makes a dramatic mid‑game on‑court arrest like the viral clip extremely unlikely in real life. Note that it is still theoretically possible.