Referees Could Face Discipline From N.B.A.
Saturday, August 18, 2007, 11:01 AM - Basketball
Referees Could Face Discipline From N.B.A.. A basketball article.
The federal investigation into National Basketball Association gambling is generating information about other referees that could lead to disciplinary action short of criminal charges, authorities and lawyers involved with the case said yesterday.

Although the F.B.I. investigation continues, three people briefed on the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity say it is focused on professional gamblers and has not uncovered any accusations of criminal wrongdoing by other referees or N.B.A. insiders.

The N.B.A. could discipline referees for violating the league’s policy on gambling, which would not rise to the level of criminal activity, the sources said. On Wednesday, the former referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felonies related to providing inside information to professional gamblers.

Mark Broussard, a spokesman for the N.B.A., declined to comment yesterday beyond an earlier statement saying that the Donaghy case “was an isolated incident.”

“We don’t have any information suggesting that any other N.B.A. referee was involved in this matter or that the government believes any other referee was involved in this matter,” Broussard said.

Federal authorities briefed N.B.A. officials June 20. Donaghy resigned July 9. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information across state lines — not sports bribery, a charge that would require proof he changed the outcome of a game. He faces up to 25 years in prison in a sentencing set for Nov. 9.

Donaghy has spoken with the F.B.I. and was expected to enter a cooperation agreement with the government, agreeing to tell all he knows about possibly illegal activity, according to an affidavit in support of arrest warrants for two gamblers. The affidavit, released Wednesday, identifies Donaghy as a confidential source called “CS-1.” - See Referees Could Face Discipline From N.B.A.

Entire Sports World Grapples With Unsettling Ref Scandal
Wednesday, July 25, 2007, 10:39 AM - Basketball
Entire Sports World Grapples With Unsettling Ref Scandal. A basketball article.Yesterday, as his league's nightmare scenario continued to unfold, NBA commissioner David Stern stepped in front of a microphone to explain what he could. Tim Donaghy, a ref for 13-years, has resigned and is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly betting on games, including ones in which he officiated. That casts doubt on pro basketball's very foundation, by suggesting some games were not played on the level.

"Everyone and everything that was in place to prevent this very thing from happening broke down," David Aldridge writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "And that has taken the league's integrity down a sinkhole, just as the point-shaving scandals of the 1950s and '60s destroyed some college basketball programs in the Northeast for a generation. Stern, Gotham-raised and bred, who fought as a young lawyer to keep Connie Hawkins out of the NBA after Hawkins was tied to gamblers such as Jack Molinas, knows that history as well as anyone."

On ESPN.com, Marc Stein attempts to answer some pressing questions about the Donaghy case, including, "What is the best-case scenario for the league at this point?" Mr. Stern gave every indication he doesn't expect Mr. Donaghy to be cleared, after years in which the commish dismissed any accusations of referee malfeasance. "The inevitability now, however, is that Donaghy's alleged actions -- even though they don't come close to fitting the above profiles -- have invigorated and validated all those conspiracy theorists Stern has been scoffing at for years," Mr. Stein writes.

For the Phoenix Suns, who lost a crucial playoff game in May that was officiated by Mr. Donaghy, the news adds to the franchises' pile of hard-luck tales. "It's enough missed shots and misfortune to make one think the Suns are the cursed outfit in town, not the Wile E. Coyotes or the hard-luck Cardinals," Dan Bickley writes in the Arizona Republic. Mr. Bickley adds, "Stern's image never will be the same among the skeptics, the ones that believe he fixes draft lotteries and failing franchises, that he favors superstars and television ratings. And no place will be more dangerous for Stern than here in Phoenix, the pound-for-pound champion of conspiracy theorists, a region that already carried great mistrust of the commissioner and his merry band of zebras." - See Entire Sports World Grapples With Unsettling Ref Scandal for the complete article.