Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to felony charges
Posted: Wednesday Aug 15, 2007 1:46 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -Former referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in an NBA betting scandal that rocked the league and raised questions about the integrity of games.
Donaghy faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce. He was released on a $250,000 bond.
Speaking in code during telephone calls, Donaghy provided recommendations, called "picks,'' to co-conspirators about what team they should bet on, said U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. If he was correct, they paid him $5,000.
The picks, the government said, included information about games that Donaghy officiated - information that was not public. Donaghy had "unique access,'' including what crews would be officiating games, the interaction of different officials and players, and the physical condition of certain players.
Donaghy was fined $500,000 and must pay at least $30,000 in restitution to the government.
Commissioner David Stern said the NBA would "continue with our ongoing and thorough review of the league's officiating program to ensure that the best possible policies and procedures are in place to protect the integrity of our game.''
Donaghy's lawyer, John Lauro, told The Associated Press: "Tim is relieved this part of the proceeding is over and we look forward to completely resolving this matter in the coming months.
I have issues with this. I know I sound conspiratorial, but I totally believe that this is part of the NBA's attempt to completely sweep this under the rug, in complicity with sports writers.
Now, we don't know if Barry Bonds actually has taken steroids, for he has passed every pee in the cup that's been asked of him. YET, the sports writers can seem to find inch upon inch of newspaper ink that they can write about him.
THIS MAN has ADMITTED that he FIXED GAMES. While Bonds may be offending the ' theoretical' purity of his sport; ain't nothing 'theoretical' about Mr. Donaghy. He DELIBERATELY FIXED GAMES.
Where is the outrage? Where are the reems of paper written about this? Where is this being a daily topic on sport shows on ESPN?
WHERE.IS.IT?
Do you honestly believe that Mr. Donaghy acted alone? In a vacuum of silence all by his lonesome? Do you understand the level of seriousness that we're discussing for him even to GET to the level of what he was doing? Of how serious a gambler you have to be in order to involve MOB bookies in what you're doing?
Like my story about the preacher's wife below, I can't escape the feeling that this is but another example of White privilege. When I see how Bonds has been crucified in the sports press, all over this country, for something that hasn't even been proven, and at most, only affects him and the records that HE is going for....with the almost complete lack of attention to this story, outside of the first days, of a issue that brings in the validity of an ENTIRE LEAGUE....one has to wonder.
We'll see how far this Donaghy issue goes, but I'm getting the not-so-nice feeling that this is about to be tied up in a nice little bow as to not threaten NBA, INC.
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rikyrah, the Donaghy thing is fishy as hell, but I'm afraid I don't quite get your take.
"Now, we don't know if Barry Bonds actually has taken steroids..."
Actually, I think we can safely say he did. Greg Anderson pleaded guilty to distribution of steroids. He was Bonds' friend and trainer, was employed by Balco, and passed on two substances to Bonds, which he used. In his defense, Barry said he only thought they were an arthritis cream and flaxseed oil. He said he used the cream topically and took the oil orally which is how 'the cream' and 'the clear' were typically administered.
Anderson has been subpoenaed twice to testify in investigations into Bonds' suspected steroid use, but has refused both times. Anderson was then twice jailed for contempt of court.
If you're positive those weren't the designer steroids Balco was producing and distributing, then you're way ahead of Bonds' lawyer: even had Bonds taken steroids linked to Balco, they were legal at the time he said.
To my knowledge, no users of the Balco designer steroids were ever caught by random testing because they were concocted to pass piss tests: 'An affadavit from the USADA reveals that "the cream" was a composition of testosterone and epitestosterone designed to increase the natural level of the steroid testosterone while not disrupting the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, a common metric used in traditional drug tests.' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_cream]
Gary Sheffield actually admitted to taking the Balco steroid and he never failed a drug test either. Saying someone never got caught taking something that's specifically designed to beat the test is a poor defense.
And if you think Barry's not that type of guy, or not so stupid as to endanger his reputation and career by using drugs, remember that one of the first guys, if not the very first, to get caught failing MLB's new amphetamine drug test was Barry Bonds. (He blamed Mark Sweeney's locker.)
"THIS MAN has ADMITTED that he FIXED GAMES. While Bonds may be offending the 'theoretical' purity of his sport; ain't nothing 'theoretical' about Mr. Donaghy. He DELIBERATELY FIXED GAMES."
Nowhere has Donaghy admitted to fixing games, I don't know where you got that. His guilty pleas were a result of his participation in a scheme where he passed along inside information on NBA teams that benefitted crooked bettors who then kicked back $5000 to the idiot ref.
"...I can't escape the feeling that this is but another example of White privilege. When I see how Bonds has been crucified in the sports press, all over this country, for something that hasn't even been proven, and at most, only affects him and the records that HE is going for....with the almost complete lack of attention to this story, outside of the first days, of a issue that brings in the validity of an ENTIRE LEAGUE....one has to wonder.
We'll see how far this Donaghy issue goes, but I'm getting the not-so-nice feeling that this is about to be tied up in a nice little bow as to not threaten NBA, INC."
Of course the NBA wants to make it disappear, who wouldn't? It's not going away soon, though. These are the online stories attached to yesterday's SI article on Donaghy:
NBA Referee Betting Scandal
Donaghy pleads guilty | Four games pinpointed
BURNS: Guilty plea doesn't end NBA's headache
WERTHEIM: How Donaghy's plea affects the NBA
THOMSEN: NBA must find way to live with betting
ASCHBURNER: Stern's legacy suddenly on the line
THOMSEN: Other referees have cause for concern
McCALLUM: Commissioner shows a different side
BURNS: Fans will inevitably doubt Stern's NBA
DEFORD: Betting probe like this one was inevitable
MANNIX: An isolated case? Stern better hope so
McCALLUM: The NBA missed some warning signs
BURNS: Ex-Donaghy colleague expresses anger
When sportswriters are discussing whether Stern's legacy is now destroyed, the issue's obviously not hiding under the rug. This is serious stuff, as it should be.
I'll buy your take that the Donaghy thing is bigger than the press it's getting: I'll not be surprised to find he threw a game, and that's when the sh*t better hit the fan.
As for Bonds, I'll say he's been a huge media deal because he's the biggest star ballplayer of his time. Imagine if Abdul-Jabbar or Ali or Nicklaus had been rightfully suspected of habitual cheating? That would be a huge scandal, as this is.
Absent steroids, his 7 MVPS, his home-run records, his walk and slugging percentage records make a solid case that he's the greatest, most feared and respected baseball player of all time, which is remarkable as it's a 100-year-old sport.
Given Barry Bonds' lofty place in all of baseball history, he's earned the negative attention. And if you think it's arbitrary, try to find the once beloved Mark McGwire. Or Rafael Palmeiro. Anywhere. They're ghosts.
..my 2 cents...
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