When the news broke about referee Tim Donaghy and his involvement in betting on NBA games, David Stern and the NBA did everything they could to sweep it under the rug. They leaned on the first publisher not to publish his book Personal Foul, and they dismissed him as a rogue referee who acted alone. And for the most part, it worked, Donaghy hasn’t had that much press, and the NBA hasn’t really skipped a beat.
But now the book is out and Tim Donaghy is trying to get his voice heard. Read more.
My question is who is listening? I’ve read all that Donaghy has to say and he makes some good points. The problem with Donaghy is not what he’s saying, it’s that he’s the only one saying it. It’s like when Noah tried to warn about the flood, yeah, you might be right, but no one is listening. We all watch the games, and I can see where Donaghy is coming from, I always believed the referees were picking on Allen Iverson and I’ve always felt David Stern was the puppet master behind many outcomes in the NBA. But really, it doesn’t surprise anyone. The NBA is about entertainment, and if the best possible entertainment means forcing a seventh game in the playoffs, who’s complaining? I haven’t seen an NBA finals or series yet when I didn’t believe the better team hadn’t won.
Donaghy seems to resent the label of rogue placed on him by the NBA. Well, Tim, you acted alone, you’re the only one who got busted, you lied about it at first and you pretty much disgraced your family’s officiating reputation. I would say that rogue title is looking pretty accurate. Let me put it this way, I really don’t care what Tim Donaghy has to say, truth or not. Write your book and go away. If he had just come forward without getting busted then maybe I’d feel differently. But the way I see it, Donaghy would have never said a word against the organization he now slanders if he had never got pinched. He would have continued on getting paid his fat referee salary and making bad calls. It does look and sound like sour grapes and no matter how much truth there may be to it, it will always sound like the sentiments of a bitter outcasted referee, that’s just my opinion.
The NBA has provided me and millions others with entertainment, excitement and fun betting experiences for years now, and one book from one loose lipped referee isn’t going to all of a sudden spark people to bring down the NBA empire. And who knows, perhaps in time Donaghy will get some backing, but everyone knows the first whistleblower is always the martyr, just ask Jose Conseco.
