FBI Director Cash Patel blasted “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith for suggesting that President Trump is behind the arrests of NBA players and coaches for alleged felony betting violations.

Smith warns sports leagues that Trump is coming for them

Patel believes Smith, the host of “First Take,” was suggesting that the arrests were politically motivated and part of a vendetta hatched by Trump. On Thursday, Oct. 23, ESPN and a multitude of outlets reported that the U.S. Department of Justice got arrest warrants for NBA coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, former assistant coach Damon Jones, and dozens of Mafia members and others in a probe on illegal gambling and wagering bets on the NBA.

The head of the FBI, the agency that executed the arrests, said it is preposterous for Smith to suggest that this was anything but a case of cops arresting criminals.

FBI director blasts Stephen A. Smith

Patel, who announced the arrests earlier that day in a press conference, called Smith’s remarks “the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history,” according to the Huffington Post. 

During the latest episode of “First Take,” Smith warned the NBA and the WNBA that “Trump is coming” for them.

Stephen A. Smith said Trump has a vendetta

“Tell me when we’ve seen that … You don’t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. It’s not coincidental. It’s not an accident. It’s a statement, and it’s a warning that more is coming,” Smith said on the show.

Patel swatted away Smith’s allegations while being interviewed on Fox News.

FBI director reiterates disgust with Smith

“I’m the FBI director. I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct,” Patel said. “We arrest people for crimes. That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C.”

The FBI director reiterated what he said at his press conference that the scheme linked professional athletes to organized crime figures in a sprawling web of illegal poker games and insider betting on NBA “prop” wagers.

“These were coordinated schemes with La Cosa Nostra (the Mafia),” Patel said. “They literally had scanners at poker tables, and professional athletes would walk off the court so their proposition bets could be met.”

The Department of Justice, which will prosecute the arrestees, accuses Billups, Rozier, Jones and the mob of using insider information about players to place bets and generate millions in earnings.

NBA player and coach deny the charges

Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said his client “is not a gambler” and “looks forward to winning this fight,” according to ABC News.

Meamwhile, Billups’ lawyer, Chris Heywood, called the accusations “completely false” and said the veteran coach as “a man of integrity.”

The feds maintain that the apprehension of the aforemetioned individuals was the result of a years-long investigation.

“We’ve been on this case for years,” Patel said. “It’s not about politics. It’s about upholding the law. We arrest people for crimes — period.”