NBA referee caught fixing games

[Benevolent One]

NBA referee Tim Donaghy has been caught fixing professional basketball games that he was officiating and was gambling on. The FBI has been investigating his actions and his ties to organized crime that played a part in his actions. The following is a short story about it.

How mob hooked gambling ref

Posted: Saturday July 21, 2007 07:56AM ET

Tim Donaghy, the NBA ref at the center of a federal investigation into fixing games and betting on contests he officiated, was forced into helping crooked gamblers by a fledgling gangster who threatened him, The Post has learned. Donaghy was a troubled gambler who placed high-stakes bets on just about anything he could - including his own rounds of golf - before the Philadelphia-based wiseguy wannabe learned the ref bet on games that he worked, sources said. The thug's threats to expose Donaghy pressured the ref into feeding crooked gamblers privileged information that helped them win bets against the point spread - the margin of victory on which bettors wager - on NBA games, sources said. Donaghy also made officiating calls during games that affected margins of victory, the sources said.

 

[Benevolent One]

The NBA is really going to have a hard time trying to deflect the negative impact this story has on the league and, in particular, fans opinions of the league and it's integrity.

For all of the leagues image problems coming from NBA players behaving badly, at least those things didn't prove that the outcome of some games were intentionally tampered with.

I am a die hard basketball fan and have been for as long as I can remember. I love the NBA and watch probably more games than a vast majority of people do. The officiating in the league has been bad for years now. Poor calls have led directly to the outcome of some very important games over the years. I would joke about the officials being paid off because of how one-sided the bad officiating was, but I never really thought it was true. At least not on the scale in which it appears to have been here.

This is a real black eye for a sport that didn't need it.

 

[tkj24]

The NBA is really going to have a hard time trying to deflect the negative impact this story has on the league and, in particular, fans opinions of the league and it's integrity.

For all of the leagues image problems coming from NBA players behaving badly, at least those things didn't prove that the outcome of some games were intentionally tampered with.

I am a die hard basketball fan and have been for as long as I can remember. I love the NBA and watch probably more games than a vast majority of people do. The officiating in the league has been bad for years now. Poor calls have led directly to the outcome of some very important games over the years. I would joke about the officials being paid off because of how one-sided the bad officiating was, but I never really thought it was true. At least not on the scale in which it appears to have been here.

This is a real black eye for a sport that didn't need it.

I don't like the NBA anymore. It isn't the same since Michael retired. I watch college basketball but not NBA.

 

[buckaroo]

I'm with you on this one tkj24. The NBA is now the place for thugs. I guess it's the hip hop generation that has taken over the sport and that is just something that I don't care for. It's beginning to take over other sports as well as auto racing, but the redneck roots are still pretty deep that it will take a much longer time to overtake racing.

But, back to the subject at hand, I guess it was only a matter of time before they found an official on the take. My guess is that this is not something that is so unusual, not just in basketball, but all other sports as well. Also, I hate to say this, but it's really part of the game. One would just hope that the officials that are officiating the game is either on the up and up, or on your side.

 

[barelypure]

NBA...

 

[muggle not]

I'm with you on this one tkj24. The NBA is now the place for thugs. I guess it's the hip hop generation that has taken over the sport and that is just something that I don't care for. It's beginning to take over other sports as well as auto racing, but the redneck roots are still pretty deep that it will take a much longer time to overtake racing.

But, back to the subject at hand, I guess it was only a matter of time before they found an official on the take. My guess is that this is not something that is so unusual, not just in basketball, but all other sports as well. Also, I hate to say this, but it's really part of the game. One would just hope that the officials that are officiating the game is either on the up and up, or on your side.

I agree. However, I am afraid that this is just the tip of the iceburg. I would be surprised if we don't see many more involved in this gambling operation before the investigation is over. The NBA and the NFL have far too many "thugs' for my liking. Unfortunately the owners don't have the balls to simply get rid of the bad apples.

 

[buckaroo]

The NFL is beginning to see the light, but I'm afraid that it's going to take a long time before there's any dent made in the situation.