The NBA's Worst Nightmare

THE NBA’S WORST NIGHTMARE

            Last Friday, Murray Weiss of the New York Times broke a story that the FBI has been investigating Tim Donaghy, a 13 year veteran NBA referee.  This type of an allegation is made to order for an Oliver Stone conspiracy movie.  According to law enforcement sources, Donaghy bet thousands of dollars on NBA games during the 2005-06 seasons.  Reports have circulated, that Donaghy not only bet on just games in the NBA, but also the games in which he officiated.  In other words, games where point shaving, by calling a foul, or a turnover at a certain point in the game could affect the margin of victory.  The word is that Donaghy had a gambling problem and a loosing problem.  He was approached by low-level mob associates to deal with his debt.  The debt was then used as leverage to get him to shave points.  Donaghy had previously submitted his resignation.  It seems he knew and possibly the league knew the suspension was coming.

The thing that makes this case possibly more compelling than Pete Rose or the 1919 Chicago White Sox is that participants in the game cannot always influence the outcome.  A game official, however; has more control over the outcome and the influence he can exert is potentially enormous.  The first question that comes to mind here is whether or not Donaghy acted alone.  The NBA has a three person referee crew system.  Players in modern day professional sports make so much money that they are unlikely to be influenced by money and the mob.  NBA refs are more like college kids.  They don’t have a big bank roll to fall back on.  They are more vulnerable, susceptible to influence.  Is this just the tip of the iceberg?  Are the keepers of the game unworthy of our trust?  Did one of his fellow refs turn him in? 

Here is a little food for thought and just why Donaghy is being investigated.  In games that he called, when the home team was favored by 0-4 1/2  points, the home team lost 12 of 17 times. Is it possible that almost 70% of the time, he and his crew influenced games so the underdog would beat the spread?   Home teams went 1-7 when the spread was 5-9.5 points.  This is significant because history has shown that basketball is the easiest game to fix.  A foul shot given in the right place, an errant pass, or a whistle that causes a turnover or an unfair advantage at the right time could make a gambler millions.  Traditionally, college kids have been involved in these scandals.  This allegation involving a referee could have a much wider impact. 

Last season, in a game involving the Chicago Bulls, Donaghy ejected Coach Scott Skiles in a game at New York in November.  Skiles said at the time, the he did not understand the reason for the ejection.  Was this an effort to influence the outcome of the game?  The point spread?  In a Heat-Knicks game in New York in February, the Knicks shot 39 free throws to the Heat’s eight and technical fouls were called on Heat Coach Pat Riley and Assistant Coach Ron Rothstein, and the Knicks won by 6.  New York was favored by 4 ½. 

The Phoenix Suns played a tough semi-final series against the eventual NBA champs, the San Antonio Spurs.  Game 3 of the Suns-Spurs series was called one of the poorest officiated games in playoff history.  It was a game of bad calls, bad no-calls and late non-calls.  What crew officiated that game?  Eddie Rush, Greg Willard and Tim Donaghy.  Some examples include Bowen forcing a turnover clearly hacking Nash’s hand, an error calling what appeared to be a clear block on Stoudemire.  Stoudemire, one of the Suns star players only played 21 minutes in that game due to foul trouble.  The Suns in one sequence forced a miss, got the ball and were on their way up the court, when a late foul was called, supposedly on the shot attempt itself.  This one was made by Donaghy.  The Spurs were favored by four points in that game and won by 7.  They shot 9 more free throws than the Suns did.  Was the game fixed?  Did this referee possible contribute to who would be named the ultimate champion of the NBA.    Don’t think that  coaches did not complain about the way the games was handled by Mr. Donaghy.  Orlando Magic Coach Brian Hill was fined $25k after complaining about a game the Donaghy crew officiated in March.  What does Commissioner Stern do if Donaghy had money on that game?  Does he give the fine back?  How do you replace a championship that may have been stolen?  This story has all of the trappings to become the single biggest sports story of 2007.  You just cannot overestimate the damage done to the NBA as the FBI continues to investigate betting on game and shaving point by this referee.  Is this just the tip of the iceberg?  The integrity of the league is vested in its officials.  No doubt, this has to be the NBA’s worst nightmare.