NBA Referee
 

The NBA Referee who has allegedly been betting on games is Tim Donaghy. Unfortunitaly this is unfolding to be one of the biggest crisis in the history of the 4 major sports. Donaghy is said to be betting on games that he has officiated in. Making calls in the 4th quarter to get the spread the way it should be. I am sure that this isn't the first time it has happened and probably will not be the last, but this is the first one to be caught in the 4 major sports. Now every night them guys go out there, everyone in the arena and anyone who knows basketball will be judging the integrity of those guys if in the 4th quarter a select guy makes 2 or 3 calls that are "iffy".

I can just hear it now - "Hey ref, how much did you have bet on those guys?" "Hey ref - how much did they pay you to beat the spread?", etc.

I guess it's about time the NBA changed their name to the NBE (National Basketball Entertainment) following the lead of "professional" wrestling. :(

Or, "Hey ref, what's the spread tonight?"


Maybe I could respond, "I hear it's roast beef sandwiches."

We'll probably hear it from the fans, but I'll be dammed if I'm gonna put up with it from coaches.

It's only this big, coach ... (as I bring my hands together to form a letter of the alphabet)

"Apparently, it's your waistline." http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...mages/beer.gif

Hey!

I resemble that remark!

This is an issue that will impact every single one of us, guaranteed, from the NBA all the way down to pee-wee games. It will not only affect basketball, but it will hurt officials in every other sport. The only thing we have is our integrity, complemented by our believability. The accusation alone, at one fellow official, casts suspicion on all of us. This is a dark day for all officials.

"As we previously stated, we have been cooperating with the FBI in their investigation of allegations that a single NBA referee bet on NBA games that he officiated. As part of that cooperation, we were asked by the Government not to comment about the investigation, but in light of the widespread press coverage and the naming of the referee, Tim Donaghy, we consider it appropriate to make a fuller statement. We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again. We will have more to say at a press conference that will be scheduled for next week." --David Stern

Sounds like he's convinced.

With ya there! First player or coach that opens his mouth - WHACK!

Some of you guys are overstating this. If you work major college or pro, then yes, it could come up. Lower than that it won't since there's no betting market and no spread. Even if it does, its easy to deal with: ignore the fans and if the coaches or players say something, whack them and report it.

After a game once, I had a coach ask me how much I had bet on that game. At first, I thought he was kidding but then I realized he was serious. I told him that if he said that to anyone else and it affected my assignments, I would sue him for slander. That shut him up. Oh yeah - this was a SIXTH GRADE KIDS REC GAME!!!!

This summer, I was working at a tournament in Oregon City. One of my games was the home team against a team from out of state. The oos coach asked me, when I called yet another foul against his players, "Where are we playing this game?"

I doubt that accusations of gambling will go up much (except perhaps in Padgett's league where everyone knows what his price is! jk Mark) but I expect accusations of cheating will. We are already always under suspicion anyway, this situation can only make it worse.

That's exactly what the other posters said. So why are they overstating it and you're not? If you think this won't trickle down, you're very naive.

I ran into a friend of mine today. I have reffed his boy-HS frosh-/Jv. Kid has fouled out every game I have reffed him.....Never heard Anything. Not a word about the calls or his kid or nuthin.:) But today heard,in jest, some point spread banter.:( . I do believe BBREF has it right,in that it's a gonna trickle down....

LAst year one of the local Varsity legends, in summer ball, accused me of taking money from the other local varsity legend. That was an easy whistle on my part. ;)

The trickle down effect will hit us all, guaranteed. I don't know about the rest of you, but when someone questions my integrity, it's not just going to be a T, I'll be doing paperwork.

Why are we so over the top when a situation takes place? If you just T everyone that makes a comment about the "spread" or suggests you are "cheating" then the message will be sent. I likely will not be officiating games where big money is on the line or Vegas have a line on the game. Honestly who cares what people will say? They already think you were cheating in the first place. Actually this might help in the long run because more is talked about how the NBA evaluates games than ever before. Until all the facts are out, this just might bring more light on how good officials are and how hard it is to fix games. This official was not accused of fixing a game to make a team win. How many games are you going to be officiating where the over/under is public knowledge?

Peace

Yup.

Do it already, and the message gets through loud and clear.

I think the biggest games I've worked in my career were a couple of intramural championships (several times) and, in real basketball, the championship game of a local Catholic school league 7th/8th grade. Guarantee that no one was betting on any of them.

The fact that no one is betting on a game may not keep those with a stake in the outcome from making the accusation.

The penalty is the same either way - T the first time, trip to the showers if it continues.

Why didn't someone notice?
 

The real question I have is how could this have gone on for apparently 2 years without someone noticing this referee was manipulating pointspreads and/or outcomes of games? Or, at the least, that he was a lousy referee.

The average fan, of which I am one, might say "How could anyone even tell? Officiating is so inconsistant, particularly in the 4th quarter, that all the referees could be involved and we'd never know."

Does the NBA have a review process similar to what Mike Perini does in the NFL whereby officials are critiqued as to their on court performance?

Publicising this process would be a big step in regaining the average fans' trust.

There have been several threads on this topic since the news broke. I'd encourage you to review them, but the short answer is yes, there is a review process and it's rather extensive and immediate. They get feedback at half-time. Is it perfect? No, obviously.

For the future, his name is Mike Pereira.

There was an interview with Brandon Lang..a handicapper. He gave this scenario: Knicks are up by 4 with 10 seconds to play, and they have the ball, just dribbling out the clock. But the point spread is 5. A defender hand checks the dribbler. The referee calls the hand check foul, sending the Knick to the line for 2 free throws. He makes them both....the Knicks beat the spread, and the referee gets an attaboy for calling the foul, which was a point of emphasis....

That is how you take care of the point spread, AND be graded above average as a referee.

It is? Oh, I guess you missed this quote:

and this one:

and this one:

Now, would you please point out the poster that said EXACTLY what I said (as you alleged) prior to my saying it. I can't find it.