NBA Officials

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

DJ, I've been in this whistle-blowing game for close to 50 years now. I can watch an NBA game now and not have a clue as to what a foul is. Or when traveling should be called. Or when 3-seconds should be called. Or.....

I couldn't say that 20-25 years ago.

That's one of the reasons that I don't watch the NBA anymore.

Apparently Donaghy's evaluations were good and his ratings were high. That has to reflect more on the NBA's current system imo. Garbage in...garbage out.

I agree...it's very hard to watch. But the people in the league who do know and understand - most importantly other officials - should have been able to figure out that something weird was going on...they do understand the way the league wants things called, etc...it just strikes me as very odd that everyone involved with the league is acting so surprised and shocked. How could no one have known anything???

[M&M Guy]

One thing I've noticed in the some of the stories after Stern's news conference is that they are referring to the official being guilty of betting on games, including ones he has officiated, and providing information on games to others. There is, so far, no substantiation of actually fixing games. Perhaps that is why Stern is sure he's guilty - guilty of betting on games, not necessarily fixing games. Maybe that's why other officials seemed surprised, because there might not be any impropriety during actual games.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

One thing I've noticed in the some of the stories after Stern's news conference is that they are referring to the official being guilty of betting on games, including ones he has officiated, and providing information on games to others. There is, so far, no substantiation of actually fixing games. Perhaps that is why Stern is sure he's guilty - guilty of betting on games, not necessarily fixing games. Maybe that's why other officials seemed surprised, because there might not be any impropriety during actual games.

Two points....

Sterns words verbatim were "Donaghy is the only referee alleged to have bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others."

Donaghy resigned his position. He wasn't suspended or fired. He's history...by his own hand.

[Odd Duck]

Sterns also said...

"Suffice to say, we would have liked to have terminated him earlier, but our understanding was the investigation would best be aided if we did not terminate Mr. Donaghy,"

I can possibly understand the logic of letting him continue to work. It would be easy to convince yourself that the damage was already done and cooperating with the FBI would not make it worse. By why give him a second round playoff assignment? Why not find a reason to keep him out?

From an article on the press conference...

Stern also outlined the NBA's process of evaluating the officiating of every game, but conceded it had been focused more on the quality of referees' performances than searching for possible wrongdoing. That will probably change, he said. <<>>

Ya think?

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by Odd Duck

Sterns also said...

"Suffice to say, we would have liked to have terminated him earlier, but our understanding was the investigation would best be aided if we did not terminate Mr. Donaghy,"

I can possibly understand the logic of letting him continue to work. It would be easy to convince yourself that the damage was already done and cooperating with the FBI would not make it worse. By why give him a second round playoff assignment? Why not find a reason to keep him out?

Get your dates straight.

He didn't continue to work. The league found out on June 20, 2007. That's more than a month after his last game.

Donaghy resigned circa two weeks ago. They would like to have fired him when they found out but did not.

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Two points....

Sterns words verbatim were "Donaghy is the only referee alleged to have bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others."

Donaghy resigned his position. He wasn't suspended or fired. He's history...by his own hand.

Right.

And, again my point - no where is there any mention of "fixing" games, whether it is changing the point spread, or actually determining who wins or loses.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Right.

And, again my point - no where is there any mention of "fixing" games, whether it is changing the point spread, or actually determining who wins or loses.

Let us also remember, betting on the sport is a big time no-no. Stern said in the press conference is we do not care if you bet on games you were involved in or games you were not involved in. He was going to lose his job over that in the first place if that fact was remotely true (which it appears to be at this time). Fixing actual games is another issue all together.

Peace

[Splute]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Let us also remember, betting on the sport is a big time no-no. Stern said in the press conference is we do not care if you bet on games you were involved in or games you were not involved in. He was going to lose his job over that in the first place if that fact was remotely true (which it appears to be at this time). Fixing actual games is another issue all together.

Peace

JRut... did I hear him correctly when he said NO GAMBLING at all is allowed in the NBA (except horse racing) ?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Splute

JRut... did I hear him correctly when he said NO GAMBLING at all is allowed in the NBA (except horse racing) ?

Yes I did. The horse racing part was also negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement. It was also made clear by Stern that the NBA had the strictest policy on gambling as it relates to other sports for their officials.

Peace

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Right.

And, again my point - no where is there any mention of "fixing" games, whether it is changing the point spread, or actually determining who wins or loses.

Huh?

That's exactly what's being reported, that he fixed games. If you make calls to affect the number of points scored in a game, then from a gambling aspect, you have FIXED the game.

How can you say there's no mention?

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Huh?

That's exactly what's being reported, that he fixed games. If you make calls to affect the number of points scored in a game, then from a gambling aspect, you have FIXED the game.

How can you say there's no mention?

According to the reports on Stern's news conference, "Stern said the NBA is aware Donaghy is being accused of betting on games and providing information to others for the purpose of profiting off bets. Stern also said that he was unaware of any discussions of Donaghy potentially fixing games."

I was also under the impression it was for fixing games, point spreads, whatever. That was what most of the stories focused on initially. But that isn't what is being reported now. Maybe the gambling is all Stern knows for sure now, and that is all he needs to get Donaghy to resign. Maybe there is more behind the scenes, but it is only speculation.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

According to the reports on Stern's news conference, "Stern said the NBA is aware Donaghy is being accused of betting on games and providing information to others for the purpose of profiting off bets. Stern also said that he was unaware of any discussions of Donaghy potentially fixing games."

I was also under the impression it was for fixing games, point spreads, whatever. That was what most of the stories focused on initially. But that isn't what is being reported now. Maybe the gambling is all Stern knows for sure now, and that is all he needs to get Donaghy to resign. Maybe there is more behind the scenes, but it is only speculation.

While Stern may have been careful is selecting his words, I think we've all read what's been written and he's the only one saying that. If you're the type of person who is betting on games that you're officiating, then you're going to make calls that affect the point spread. That's were the integrity issue comes in.

Take a look at the article where sports gambler R.J. Bell put together some numbers on his games and the outcomes. In the two years prior to the alleged activity, TD's games beat the over 44% of the time. In the two years during the activity, his games surpassed the over 57%. The odds of that happening are 1000 to 1. There were 12 straight TD games where their was so much big money bet just before the game that the points pushed 1.5 points prior to the tip. In 10 of those 12 games, if you had bet with the money, you would had won. That's an 80% winning percentage, which is next to impossible.

Sorry but I don't buy that the fix wasn't in.