Cavalier Buyer Thinks ’81 Arrest Won’t Hurt

The man buying the Cleveland Cavaliers said Tuesday that he didn’t think a gambling-related arrest when he was in college will affect the deal.

Dan Gilbert was arrested in 1981 while a student at Michigan State. He was fined, given probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, but he has no permanent criminal record since the charges were dismissed.

Gilbert said the gambling involved a weekly football pool that he likened to a poker game. He said that several students were involved and that he was among the few arrested.

According to a story in the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, Gilbert was arrested with three other students on charges of operating a bookmaking ring at Michigan State that handled $114,000 in bets on football and basketball games.

Gilbert said Tuesday that the pool was related only to football and that dollar amounts listed in media reports were exaggerated.

“If this is relevant to the purchase of an NBA basketball team, maybe you guys can answer that,” Gilbert said in East Lansing, Mich. “If I was concerned, I wouldn’t have gone through this process. No, I am not concerned.”

Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans, agreed to buy the Cavaliers for $375 million from Gordon Gund.

The NBA must approve the deal.

*

Milwaukee Buck guard T.J. Ford will have tests within the week to determine whether he can play this season, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Ford, recovering from spinal surgery, was hurt Feb. 24 when fouled by Mark Madsen of the Minnesota Timberwolves.