Two major sports leagues have sent their former stars to Connecticut to bargain for sports integrity as plans to legalize sports betting moves forward in the state.

The Hartford Courant reported that National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) deployed former Boston Celtics forward Cedric Maxwell and former Mets pitcher Al Leiter to Connecticut on Tuesday to convince lawmakers to consider the aspect of sports integrity in their sports betting measure.

Compared to other states, major leagues considered the Connecticut legislature to be well-ahead of the sports betting legislative curve.

“We think Connecticut has a real chance to pass a state-of-the-art statute here that could act as a model for other states,’’ MLB Senior Vice President Morgan Sword said, according to the news outlet. “We’ve been very impressed with the level of expertise that these guys have on this issue.’’