The one thing the NBA wishes would go away...

[Lurker]

NBA Dismisses Allegations of Rigging From Ex-referee

Jun 11, 7:31 AM (ET)

By TOM HAYS
NEW YORK (AP) -NBA commissioner David Stern dismissed allegations from a former referee at the center of a gambling scandal that the 2002 playoff series was rigged by league referees and officials, calling the claims baseless.

"He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not the only one who engaged in criminal activity," Stern said of Tim Donaghy before Game 3 of the NBA finals in Los Angeles on Tuesday. "The U.S. attorney's office, the FBI have fully investigated it, and Mr. Donaghy is the only one who is guilty of a crime."

The allegations about the 2002 series were contained in a letter filed by a lawyer for Donaghy, who pleaded guilty last year to felony charges alleging he took cash payoffs from gamblers and bet on games himself. Donaghy, 41, faces up to 33 months in prison at sentencing on July 14.

Without identifying anyone or naming teams, Donaghy also claimed the NBA routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings.

"If the NBA wanted a team to succeed, league officials would inform referees that opposing players were getting away with violations," the letter said. "Referees then would call fouls on certain players, frequently resulting in victory for the opposing team."
 
Donaghy's lawyer has sought to convince a federal judge in Brooklyn that Donaghy, of Bradenton, Fla., deserves more credit for coming forward before he was charged to disclose behind-the-scenes misconduct within the NBA. The letter, filed Monday, suggests prosecutors have hurt Donaghy's chances for a lesser prison term by downplaying the extent of his cooperation.

Both Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, and prosecutors declined comment.

The league said the scandal was limited to Donaghy and two co-defendants, both former high school classmates who also pleaded guilty to gambling charges.

"The NBA remains vigilant in protecting the integrity of our game and has fully cooperated with the government at every stage of its investigation," Richard Buchanan, NBA executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. "The only criminal activity uncovered is Mr. Donaghy's."

Larnell McMorris, a spokesman for the NBA referees union, said in a statement that Donaghy "has had honesty and credibility issues from the get-go."

Donaghy's letter said that in the first of several meetings with prosecutors and the FBI in New York in 2007, he named names while describing "various examples of improper interactions and relationships between referees and other league employees, such as players, coaches and management." For example, it said, referees broke NBA rules by hitting up players for autographs, socializing with coaches and accepting meals and merchandise from teams.

In one of several allegations of corrupt refereeing, Donaghy said he learned in May 2002 that two referees known as "company men" were working a best-of-seven series in which "Team 5" was leading 3-2. In the sixth game, he alleged they purposely ignored fouls made by opponent "Team 6" and made phantom calls putting its players at the free-throw line.

"Team 6" won the game and came back to win the series, the letter said.

The more Stern denies that this is even possible the more I tend to believe Donaghy.  The NBA continues to stick its head in the sand and tell people that the refs are right and disparage Donaghy.  Why not present evidience to the contrary?  Instead just keep questioning the messenger.

And to make it even more controversial...there was only one series in 2002 that went 7 games.  And the team ahead by 3-2 margin was the Kings.  And we all know who hung the chanpionship banner that year.

[Reality]

The silence from Laker posters is refreshing.

Phil Zen went to the ultra lame diversion attempt of "yeah but how about that one call where the ball went out of bounds the previous game?"
Which btw camera angles do NOT support that the ball went off a King.
As if that would undo the 25 or so calls Donoghy referenced that the **Lakeshow** needed to survive game 6.

[JoMal]

The silence from Laker posters is refreshing.

Phil Zen went to the ultra lame diversion attempt of "yeah but how about that one call where the ball went out of bounds the previous game?"
Which btw camera angles do NOT support that the ball went off a King.
As if that would undo the 25 or so calls Donoghy referenced that the **Lakeshow** needed to survive game 6.

Yeah, I could not help but notice the spin put on that series by Phil. When the Kings' front office was asked to respond, all the local and national media got back was a "no comment". 

[Derek Bodner]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

[Lurker]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

No they (Feds) concluded there was no criminal activity.  And if they were looking for gambling connections with the "fixes" and couldn't find any that doesn't mean the "fixes" didn't happen.  No one knows what the NBA concluded except that they would never admit to it publically.  A small but very important distinction. 

[rickortreat]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

Of course they found nothing, to admit it would destroy the game and they know it.  It is likely true, who in power or authority is immune from corruption? NBA refs are the authority in a game, but make less than the players the owners, the league office people etc.  Is it so hard to imagine that you would find a couple who would be willing to bend the rules in your favor in exchange for monetary compensation?

A few years ago a few of them got thrown out for cheating on their income taxes, taking the cheap seat on a flight, and pocketing the difference between that and the first-class ticket they got.  Imagine how much more Mark Cuban might be willing to put into you retirement account so he could get his ring.

The Feds can't find anything when they are relying on guilty people to tell the truth!  What a joke!
All it would take is a careful evaluation of the officials financial holdings over a period of time, to establish if they have more money than their efforts would otherwise justify.  That's the only smoking gun left.

[westkoast]

The silence from Laker posters is refreshing.

Phil Zen went to the ultra lame diversion attempt of "yeah but how about that one call where the ball went out of bounds the previous game?"
Which btw camera angles do NOT support that the ball went off a King.
As if that would undo the 25 or so calls Donoghy referenced that the **Lakeshow** needed to survive game 6.

The fact that you ignored the other information is even more funnier.  No mention of your beloved Dallas or Heat.   I was out of town today so I did not get a chance to respond.  Funny how when you get called on something you never respond.  Yet since I didn't get to respond right away "Laker fans are scared" lol.  Here is the clear difference between Laker fans here on the board and you.  You are taking his word as gospel even though he wasn't there.  Its information you can use to try to justify your hate for the Lakers so it can only be that way.  I have no problem saying yea there could have been a fix in light of this information.  Now could you ever man up and say the same about the Spurs last year?

The fact that you believe all the calls were bogus makes it not even worth it to debate.  I will leave you with this tid bit though.  Since the statement was to extend the series, not to make the Lakers win, the Lakers wouldn't have needed game 6 to survive had the correct call been made on Chris Webber's illegal screen in game 5.

[JoMal]

The silence from Laker posters is refreshing.

Phil Zen went to the ultra lame diversion attempt of "yeah but how about that one call where the ball went out of bounds the previous game?"
Which btw camera angles do NOT support that the ball went off a King.
As if that would undo the 25 or so calls Donoghy referenced that the **Lakeshow** needed to survive game 6.

The fact that you ignored the other information is even more funnier.  No mention of your beloved Dallas or Heat.   I was out of town today so I did not get a chance to respond.  Funny how when you get called on something you never respond.  Yet since I didn't get to respond right away "Laker fans are scared" lol.  Here is the clear difference between Laker fans here on the board and you.  You are taking his word as gospel even though he wasn't there.  Its information you can use to try to justify your hate for the Lakers so it can only be that way.  I have no problem saying yea there could have been a fix in light of this information.  Now could you ever man up and say the same about the Spurs last year?

The fact that you believe all the calls were bogus makes it not even worth it to debate.  I will leave you with this tid bit though.  Since the statement was to extend the series, not to make the Lakers win, the Lakers wouldn't have needed game 6 to survive had the correct call been made on Chris Webber's illegal screen in game 5.

Why is that one call always brought up by Laker fans to justify 27 bad calls in one quarter the following game? Is that the going ratio the Lakers have worked out with the League office for "leveling the basketball court" for LA? And as I stated in the other thread, if the idea was to extend the series to the seventh game, it just would not have happened if it were the Kings the team that needed game six. Perceptions.

[westkoast]

The silence from Laker posters is refreshing.

Phil Zen went to the ultra lame diversion attempt of "yeah but how about that one call where the ball went out of bounds the previous game?"
Which btw camera angles do NOT support that the ball went off a King.
As if that would undo the 25 or so calls Donoghy referenced that the **Lakeshow** needed to survive game 6.

The fact that you ignored the other information is even more funnier.  No mention of your beloved Dallas or Heat.   I was out of town today so I did not get a chance to respond.  Funny how when you get called on something you never respond.  Yet since I didn't get to respond right away "Laker fans are scared" lol.  Here is the clear difference between Laker fans here on the board and you.  You are taking his word as gospel even though he wasn't there.  Its information you can use to try to justify your hate for the Lakers so it can only be that way.  I have no problem saying yea there could have been a fix in light of this information.  Now could you ever man up and say the same about the Spurs last year?

The fact that you believe all the calls were bogus makes it not even worth it to debate.  I will leave you with this tid bit though.  Since the statement was to extend the series, not to make the Lakers win, the Lakers wouldn't have needed game 6 to survive had the correct call been made on Chris Webber's illegal screen in game 5.

Why is that one call always brought up by Laker fans to justify 27 bad calls in one quarter the following game? Is that the going ratio the Lakers have worked out with the League office for "leveling the basketball court" for LA? And as I stated in the other thread, if the idea was to extend the series to the seventh game, it just would not have happened if it were the Kings the team that needed game six. Perceptions.

See my previous response in the other thread.  It's not brought up to justify all the calls.  I am speaking specifically about the Kobe No call being brought up like it a major issue.    If you are going to say that the non-call on Kobe at the end of game 6 was the difference then I'd say that the non-call in game 5 would be the difference for the same reason.  The whole point of the 'fixing' according to the ref was to extend the series.  Had the Kings lost game 5 I bet the calls go their way. 

[JoMal]

See my previous response in the other thread.  It's not brought up to justify all the calls.  I am speaking specifically about the Kobe No call being brought up like it a major issue.    If you are going to say that the non-call on Kobe at the end of game 6 was the difference then I'd say that the non-call in game 5 would be the difference for the same reason.  The whole point of the 'fixing' according to the ref was to extend the series.  Had the Kings lost game 5 I bet the calls go their way. 

The non-call in the Webber screen, while noticable, is rarely called anyway at that point in the game, so it really does not measure up to a series of calls/non-calls in the subsequent game. The timing is interesting, but that game was close and Bibby still needed to hit the shot to make it mentionable.

The Kobe play was......more of a flagrant foul, and what made it even more biased was that Bibby got called for a foul immediately after. It was not at the very end of the game, and Kobe actually drew blood. Had he a gun and shot Bibby, it would have been only slightly more obvious.

And how could you possibly believe that if the Kings needed that game....in Stables.....that the refs would have made the calls so there would have been a game seven. There is no precedent of that ever happening to a Laker team on the road or at home. 

[Reality]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

  Sounds like a real thorough investigation was done.  Sponsored by Laker Marketing, Inc.
NBA referee Bob Delaney, one of three referees to work Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, told Bob Ley in an interview for ESPN's "Outside The Lines First Report" that he has never been contacted by NBA or federal investigators concerning allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees in that game intended to assure that series went seven games.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3437716

[westkoast]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

  Sounds like a real thorough investigation was done.  Sponsored by Laker Marketing, Inc.
NBA referee Bob Delaney, one of three referees to work Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, told Bob Ley in an interview for ESPN's "Outside The Lines First Report" that he has never been contacted by NBA or federal investigators concerning allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees in that game intended to assure that series went seven games.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3437716

You must be as retarded as ESPN is....

This information about the game came out yesterday...the NBA investigation had been done over the summer.  You know when people, like yourself, were letting Kobe-Gate outshine the whole ref betting ordeal.

[JoMal]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

  Sounds like a real thorough investigation was done.  Sponsored by Laker Marketing, Inc.
NBA referee Bob Delaney, one of three referees to work Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, told Bob Ley in an interview for ESPN's "Outside The Lines First Report" that he has never been contacted by NBA or federal investigators concerning allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees in that game intended to assure that series went seven games.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3437716

You must be as retarded as ESPN is....

This information about the game came out yesterday...the NBA investigation had been done over the summer.  You know when people, like yourself, were letting Kobe-Gate outshine the whole ref betting ordeal.

Okay, your comment has no relevance to Reality's point. Delaney said he had never been contacted yesterday. Are you saying that Delaney sort of "forgot" he HAD been contacted last summer? Where do YOU get your information to make that assumption?

[westkoast]

Apparently, this is something donaghy's lawyers brought up months ago.  Both the NBA and the feds have already conducted investigations, and both concluded that there's nothing to substantiate his claims.

  Sounds like a real thorough investigation was done.  Sponsored by Laker Marketing, Inc.
NBA referee Bob Delaney, one of three referees to work Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, told Bob Ley in an interview for ESPN's "Outside The Lines First Report" that he has never been contacted by NBA or federal investigators concerning allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees in that game intended to assure that series went seven games.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3437716

You must be as retarded as ESPN is....

This information about the game came out yesterday...the NBA investigation had been done over the summer.  You know when people, like yourself, were letting Kobe-Gate outshine the whole ref betting ordeal.

Okay, your comment has no relevance to Reality's point. Delaney said he had never been contacted yesterday. Are you saying that Delaney sort of "forgot" he HAD been contacted last summer? Where do YOU get your information to make that assumption?

Wow you must be drinking out of Reality's cup today.  Tard juice for all I guess.

 Did you read the bold?  You know the part where it says "he has never been contacted by NBA or federal investigators concerning allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees in that game intended to assure that series went seven games.  "

ESPN is retarded.  They asked him the same day the information came out if any feds asked him about it?   The investigation that DB is talking about, the same one Reality is referencing, was done last summer BEFORE this information came out.  So you can't say the investigation sucked, like Reality did, because they didn't contact him about a specific game during the investigation PRIOR to the information coming out.  Not everyone has a magical crystal ball like you.

[Ted]

ESPN is retarded.  They asked him the same day the information came out if any feds asked him about it?   The investigation that DB is talking about, the same one Reality is referencing, was done last summer BEFORE this information came out.  So you can't say the investigation sucked, like Reality did, because they didn't contact him about a specific game during the investigation PRIOR to the information coming out.  Not everyone has a magical crystal ball like you.

Oh westkoast . . . this may hurt a little . . .

The information released yesterday was released in a public letter that Donaghy's attorney released in response to the NBA's demand that Donaghy pay $1 million for restitution. The letter DID NOT release new information. Everything the letter contained came from Donaghy's accounts to federal investigators. Donaghy first said these things months and months ago; they were made public YESTERDAY. Thus the significance of Reality's post: The supposed federal and NBA investigations into Donaghy's months-old allegations about Game 6 DID NOT include even a phone call to one of the two referees accused of fixing the game.