CBS dedicated 40 minutes on Sunday night’s 60 Minutes news magazine to the Tim Donaghy interview. Donaghy has just been released from prison and now faces a life with no money, no family and handful of mobsters tracking him. But the interview was intriguing because of the way Donaghy described the fraternity of NBA officials and how the deal with certain players. It was this information, he alleges, he used to win 70% – 80% of the bets he placed on NBA games. He refuted the notion that he rigged games with his foul calling, and pointed to a 2007 game where he tossed San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for arguing. He had money with the Spurs. His prime example was Allen Iverson, who had threatened an officials and received, according to Donaghy and his officiating colleagues, too a light fine and suspension from the league. So, they decided to mete out their own punishment by making Iverson’s life miserable on the court. Instead of his usual trips to the foul line, he got bumps, bruises and traveling calls. In the end, it was his bookie buddy that let it slip to a mob contact that he was taking bets from an NBA official. The mob naturally wanted in on the action and leaned on Donaghy before turning him in to the Feds. But the mob, the betting and the information he used to win those bets is only part of the story here. The real part is how believable he was in disclosing that NBA officials had players, coaches, GMs and owners they liked and ones they didn’t like and that they called games accordingly. He said that in games he wasn’t officiating, he’d call up one who was and ask how the games was going to be officiated, and then bet accordingly. In another detailed example, he detailed an incident where the Los Angeles Lakers had submitted a tape of 25 plays that they felt were erroneously officiated. The NBA agreed that 22 of the 25 plays indeed had been missed calls and that told officials to protect Kobe Bryant. Translation: bet the Lakers because Kobe is going to get to the line. The league telling officials how to officiate certain teams is bad enough, and the fact that Donaghy appeared so believable is even worse. the league now braces for the release of Donaghy’s book Personal Foul, due out shortly. I think David Stern would rather get a lump of coal in his stocking.
