Posted on 05/17/2008 8:14:24 AM PDT by kellynla
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on more than 100 games that he worked, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Friday, according to media reports.
Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to charges he conspired to engage in wire fraud and transmitted betting information through interstate commerce. He was alleged to have given a pair of gamblers inside information, including tips on which crews would officiate games and how the various officials and players interacted, and collected $5,000 if his picks were correct.
According to court filings, Donaghy bet on about 30 games each season starting in 2003 and 14 games during the 2006-2007 season, the New York Post reported.
Donaghy, who started placing bets on NBA games in 2003, is now scheduled to be sentenced on July 14.
"The government's investigation revealed that Donaghy provided picks for anywhere from 30 to 40 games for each of those three seasons," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Goldberg said in a letter filed Friday at U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News.
Two other men who were high school classmates with Donaghy, James Battista and Thomas Martino, have pleaded guilty to their role in the scheme.
How many did Charles Barkley bet on?
Correct. I think the NBA officiating is possibly the worst of any professional sport. And they never fire anyone (except Donaghy). Even the most arrogant, hair-trigger types, such as Joey Campbell, only get suspended for awhile, and soon are back.
Some of the refs are so arrogant that after calling a foul, if a player as much as raises an eyebrow in response, they T him up. That black female ref with the pony tail comes to mind ... The players make a lot of money, so I don't feel sorry for them, but to expect them to behave like emotionless drones is a bit much.
Do you mean Joey Crawford? I think he's mentally ill or something. That he's even allowed to referee a game involving the San Antonio Spurs is crazy. He was doing a finger poking thing on Greg Popovic's chest the other night, and Popovic finally said "don't touch me".
As Shaq likes to say: NBA stands for Nothing But Actors..................... NBA officiating is more about having the game played to the leagues liking rather then enforcing the rules of the game as they are written.
I wonder how much money changed hands to limit the investigation to this one official.
There were rumors out there that this referee was going to spill the beans on other referees in order to get less jail time................... those rumors disappeared after a few weeks.......... I wonder why?
Don’t know why they even need referees...no longer have to dribble, take as many steps as you need. It’s not basketball, it’s some kind of light contact football game.
Professional basketball is just a tad bit more real than professional wrestling. My favorites are the dunks where the guy takes about thirty two steps. But I’m boycotting the NBA until they put little mini trampolines on the court.
He comes by it genetically. His brother is an a-hole mlb umpire and their dad, Shag, was a class-A jerk ump for decades.
Yeah, that's the guy. He shouldn't be refereeing at all, but he isn't the only one. There is one ref, it was either in the final few games, or in the playoffs -- The Suns were playing someone. A player on the other team suddenly got hot and went after Sun Brian Skinner. Skinner made no agressive moves whatsoever in response. They stopped the game and T'ed up and ejected both players. They due to so many complaints, they reviewed the play under the hood, and still let the ruling stand! Plus both players were suspended for a game, as I recall. I couldn't believe it. The only other thing Skinner could have done to defuse the situation was to run to the locker room as soon as the other player got his panties in a wad. I presume that's what the refs think his response should have been.
When the Mavericks made the championship round against the Heat Shaq could do no wrong and if a Mav touched a Heat player with their extended pinky well it was an foul!!!
Phooey!
That's why they got waxed in the last Olympics - they actually had rules enforced - which was a shocking to the core for a NBA players.
It’s very hard to believe that Donaghy was the only ref in on this. And the commenters are right; the NBA is the worst-officiated of all professional sports. The people in charge are neither able nor willing to improve. It’s a good indication of their incompetence that they didn’t even know Donaghy was shaving points until the FBI told them.
This crap has been going on since the 80’s.
There was some a** named McSomething that ref’d all of the Celtic /Laker/Pistons game who was so owned. It made me ill!
This is why I call sports entertainment. I do honestly think that many of the sports games we see are fixed or rigged. I know today it is far less likely but in the 60s and 70s you had to assume the mafia had many players, coaches, and refs on the payroll.
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