The NBA referee suspected of influencing point spreads has been identified this morning as 13-year veteran Tim Donaghy, and not only is Donaghy said to have resigned pending prosecutor action, but David Stern has issued this extraordinary statement:
We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again.
Now, maybe I’m just reading this way too literally, but didn’t the commissioner of the NBA just admit that league games were influenced by a crooked ref? He didn’t use the conditional mode here: he’s saying it happened and he hopes the investigators nail the bastard. Seems to me this should not only have been the lede of the Times story, it should be on the front of every general-interest electronic news page on this continent. Right now it hasn’t even made the front of the CBC Sports online section (though I admit that Riders-Esks game was pretty awesome) or the home page of CNN.com. In case there’s any uncertainty about this at the news desks, actual corrupt officiating in a major pro team sport would be something that isn’t known to have happened in at least 50 years and would be an order of magnitude larger in importance than any instance of mere cheating by a player.
Comments (11)
I'm busy reading about horcruxes, although I skipped ahead to the ending. Sam wakes up in bed with Frodo and he's all "Oh Frodo...I had the most amazing dream." Then...hobbit sex. Peter Jackson is going to apparently going to direct the movie.
As for the NBA ref...fuck. We're still just assuming Mick McGeough is incompetent right?
Posted by Tyler | July 21, 2007 11:20 AM
Posted on July 21, 2007 11:20
actual corrupt officiating in a north american major pro team sport would be something that isn’t known to have happened in at least 50 years
Fixed.
I know we don't care because it's soccer, but still...
Posted by mclea | July 21, 2007 5:42 PM
Posted on July 21, 2007 17:42
Wow. Just...wow.
I'm just commenting as a placeholder for extreme interest in this topic.
In thinking about it, my first instinct is that officials have much more power than any individual player to manipulate results, but surely it would be even easier to spot if a ref does it.
A career-limiting move, either way.
Posted by Ryan Cousineau | July 21, 2007 6:01 PM
Posted on July 21, 2007 18:01
We're still just assuming Mick McGeough is incompetent right?
...and Kerry Fraser has an alien transmitter implanted in his brain, covered up with that carved hat of "hair"...
Posted by Tybalt | July 21, 2007 7:35 PM
Posted on July 21, 2007 19:35
We're still just assuming Mick McGeough is incompetent right?
...and Kerry Fraser has an alien transmitter implanted in his brain, covered up with that carved hat of "hair"...
Posted by Tybalt | July 21, 2007 7:35 PM
Posted on July 21, 2007 19:35
From the NYT article:
"Donaghy has faced controversy away from the basketball court as well. He was sued by a neighbor in a Pennsylvania civil court in January 2005 for yelling obscenities and setting fire to a tractor."
This incident should have raised some flags in the NBA front offices.
To Stern's credit (and I'm hesitant to give him any credit), I'm sure that, although the official's name has been revealed, a more in-depth investigation focused perhaps on mobsters, colluding players and officials, professional gamblers, etc. is underway. Grammatically, I don't think the NBA commissioner is at fault.
Posted by phil | July 22, 2007 6:54 AM
Posted on July 22, 2007 06:54
I think the reason reaction has been subdued is that is appears to be a one-off, but if they find anything else it'll be time to call in Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Posted by lowetide | July 22, 2007 10:42 AM
Posted on July 22, 2007 10:42
but if they find anything else it'll be time to call in Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Ya, because that turned out well for baseball.
Posted by Andy Grabia | July 23, 2007 3:07 AM
Posted on July 23, 2007 03:07
Andy: Actually, it did. Landis was in a position to ask for and get complete independence from the MLB owners and after he cleaned up the Black Sox scandal he went on to enforce some sweeping (and very good) changes in the game.
Landis was so good he could have had a mountain named after him. :-)
Posted by lowetide | July 23, 2007 8:56 AM
Posted on July 23, 2007 08:56
I, too, was astounded at the lack of coverage. The Times sports page didn't even have an article this morning, just a wire feed about a press conference this week. Maybe today. Whatever.
Even the Sacramento Bee (one of America's better small market newspapers) ran it on page C8 on Sunday. Game 6, 2002, Sac Kings v Lakers, was a seminal moment for that town. Donaghy didn't work it, but something was fishy.
Here's Simmons on that game: "2002, Lakers-Kings, Game 6 ... LA needs a win to stay alive ... from an officiating standpoint, the most one-sided game of the past decade ... at least six dubious calls against the Kings in the fourth quarter alone ... LA averaged 22 free throws a game during the first five games of the series, then attempted 27 freebies in the fourth quarter alone of Game 6 ... rumors that David Stern wanted to pull a Vince McMahon and declare himself "The special guest referee" for this game prove unfounded." (ellipses his).
Posted by macndub | July 23, 2007 7:58 PM
Posted on July 23, 2007 19:58
Landis may not have been much for administering justice to the players (not at all ironic given that he'd been a federal judge) but he did a hell of a job standing up to those who tried to implement the early farm systems. Landis held back that tide for a long time.
Posted by Tybalt | July 23, 2007 9:18 PM
Posted on July 23, 2007 21:18