Tim Donaghy, Disgraced Former NBA Referee, Claims Officials Fixed Playoff Series

NEW YORK — NBA referees, influenced by cozy relationships with league officials, rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seven games, a former referee at the center of a gambling scandal alleged Tuesday.

Without identifying anyone or naming teams, Tim Donaghy also claimed the NBA routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings.

Speaking before the start of the NBA finals Game 3 featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, NBA commissioner David Stern called the allegations baseless.

"All I can say is that he's looking for anything that will somehow shorten the sentence, and it's not going to happen," Stern said.

The allegations were contained in a letter filed by a lawyer for Donaghy, who pleaded guilty last year to felony charges alleging he took cash payoffs from gamblers and bet on games himself. The 41-year-old Donaghy faces up to 33 months in prison at sentencing on July 14.

"If the NBA wanted a team to succeed, league officials would inform referees that opposing players were getting away with violations," the letter said. "Referees then would call fouls on certain players, frequently resulting in victory for the opposing team."

The league called Donaghy's allegations false and self-serving, saying the scandal was limited to him and two co-defendants, both former high school classmates who also pleaded guilty to gambling charges.

Donaghy's lawyer has sought to convince a federal judge in Brooklyn that Donaghy, of Bradenton, Fla., deserves more credit for coming forward before he was charged to disclose behind-the-scenes misconduct within the NBA. The letter, filed Monday, suggests prosecutors have hurt Donaghy's chances for a lesser prison term by downplaying the extent of his cooperation.

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Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, and prosecutors declined comment.

"He's a singing, cooperating witness who is trying to get as light a sentence as he can," Stern said. "He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not the only one who engaged in criminal activity. The U.S. attorney's office, the FBI, have fully investigated it, and Mr. Donaghy is the only one who is guilty of a crime. And he will be sentenced for that crime regardless of the desperate attempts to implicate as many people as he can."

In one of several allegations of corrupt refereeing, Donaghy said he learned in May 2002 that two referees known as "company men" were working a best-of-seven series in which "Team 5" was leading 3-2. In the sixth game, he alleged the referees purposely ignored personal fouls and called "made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6."

"Team 6" won the game and came back to win the series, the letter said.

Only the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series went to seven games during the 2002 playoffs. And the Lakers went on to win the championship.

At the time, consumer advocate Ralph Nader and the League of Fans, a sports industry watchdog group, sent a letter to Stern complaining about the officiating in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers, who beat Sacramento 106-102 in that game in Los Angeles, shot 27 free throws in the final quarter and scored 16 of their last 18 points at the line.

The letter also alleged manipulation during a 2005 playoff series.

"Team 3 lost the first two games in the series and Team 3's owner complained to NBA officials," the letter said. "Team 3's owner alleged that referees were letting a Team 4 player get away with illegal screens. NBA Executive Y told Referee Supervisor Z that the referees for that game were to enforce the screening rules strictly against that Team 4 player. ... The referees followed the league's instructions and Team 3 came back from behind to win the series. The NBA benefited from this because it prolonged the series, resulting in more tickets sold and more televised games."

Donaghy's letter said that in the first of several meetings with prosecutors and the FBI in New York in 2007, he named names while describing "various examples of improper interactions and relationships between referees and other league employees, such as players, coaches and management." For example, it said, referees broke NBA rules by hitting up players for autographs, socializing with coaches and accepting meals and merchandise from teams.

"The NBA remains vigilant in protecting the integrity of our game and has fully cooperated with the government at every stage of its investigation," Richard Buchanan, NBA executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. "The only criminal activity uncovered is Mr. Donaghy's."

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Associated Press Sports Writer Brian Mahoney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Comments

[strifeknot]

Look at all the morons buying Donaghy's BS. If you're too philistine to like basketball, fine, but don't manufacture reasons to hate it.

This creep is obviously trying to get off light by trying to implicate others. If there was game fixing, we'd have at least one other source besides this guy, who's trying to squirm out of the hot seat.

I can't stand David Stern, but have seen no evidence of him fixing games. There are sometimes bad calls. Basketball is a fast moving game, and there are going to be errors. There should be greater use instant replay. But there's no evidence of refs deliberately making wrong calls, other than Donaghy, with his gambling addiction.

[ched]

Very telling that Stern and all other officials are careful to use weasel words in issuing their non-denial denials (e.g., "he is the only one accused of a crime"). Now the whole league (with the possible exception of Phil Jackson) is circliing the wagons lest this whole thing blow up into the NBA's version of the Black Sox scandal. Note Van Gudy's backing off his accusations of the very same, transparently crooked behavior. The whole thing smells like week-old fish in the hot sun, and only confirms what anybody who's ever watched any NBA playoffs already knows - the fix is in.

[Xrayvusuon]

The fix has always surrounded the NBA. Question: Why the refs officiating with Donaghy not speak out about his crooked calls. Stop watching the NBA farce 10 years ago.

[mea2214]

As a Bulls fan we've had two runs of 3 championships in a row. I have always suspected that in each of the 6 except for the first with the Lakers, the league used some funny business to extend them an extra game. The last 5 championships were all won 4-2. My theory was that the league couldn't force the Bulls to go 7 because something could go wrong and I don't think the league or Reinsdorf wanted to risk having the Bulls lose the series just to maximize the extension. So making sure they all went 6 worked. The Bulls almost always had home court advantage so winning one of the final two games at home was not that big of a deal for them.

For anyone researching this I refer you to game 5 of the 1993 finals, Bulls vs. Phoenix Suns in Phoenix. Something seriously fishy went on in that game where Jordon, who was playing his heart out (and maybe he was supposed to lay back for that game), seemed to gesture to the sidelines to stop the funny business. You need to watch the video of that game to see what I mean. The Bulls eventually lost that game and they came home in Chicago to wrap up the series 4-2.

[Bombalot]

As far back as the sixties, it was common talk around those who bet on basketball that refs were the easiest way of fixing games. Anyone with a child's knowledge of what the "spread" is on these games knows that refs are the ones who can call a foul, or not call a foul, any time they choose. Sometimes one call at that level is all you need. But basketball has long ago become like pro wrestling and only the die-hard believe it is real competition. it keeps the bad boys out of trouble and give the powerful something to use for leverage. It's a lot of things, but competition is not one of them.

[robertlockwoodmills]

I stopped watching basketball on TV about 20 years ago, not because I suspected games were fixed but because the referees never called violations on the big stars. Michael Jordan often took three full steps before shooting, and was never called for traveling. This was "SHOWTIME," you see? Palming the ball is no longer a violation, and the big-name players seldom if ever foul out of a game.

The analogy to baseball is apt. When Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa were slugging homeruns with their bodies juiced with steroids, the league turned a deaf ear to the ugly whispers. Why? Because the game was undergoing a renaissance following the 1994 players strike and cancelled World Series. Baseball needed the revenue, so it went a step farther and turned the All-Star Game into a three-day made-for-TV extravaganza. Bud Selig and David Stern are two peas in the same pod, except that Selig is marginally likable.

[ajax2]

Mr. Stern is completely out of touch with reality and his audience. Most fans can easily see the pressure on refs to favor big media center teams and long playoffs.

[Bluedog12]

If a rat “A” rats on rat “B” & rat “C” to rat “D” is rat “A” a ratee or a rattor? Which rat is Stern? Something tells me that the Celtics will know the answer within a week.

[rovezaleeker]

What would you expect a lying, manipulative, front man like David Stern to say? "Oh, hell yeah! We fix games all the time!"

Of course the NBA is rigged. It's been like watching perfasshunal rassling for years now. There's nothing new in what Donaghy is saying.

You could change Stern's head with Bud Selig's head and they could utter exactly the same drivel and pat answers that will pacify the masses. Basically they're paid liars.

"Nobody in major league baseball used steroids that we are aware of."

"NBA games are not fixed."

Yeah, blah, blah, blah..... Go work for the Bush administration. You guys would fit right in.

[PepeLepew]

You know, I realize this guy is a complete scumbag, but I've been suspicious for years of the officiating in that 2002 series between Sacramento and the Lakers.

[Scurvybro]

It goes without saying that Stern and the NBA brass are going to deny that game 6 of the 2002 Kings-Lakers series was fixed. However, plenty of objective, third-party observers speculated otherwise at the time. Among them was T.J. Simers, a columnist for the -- get this -- Los Angeles Times.

The NBA can deny the fix was in all they want. What they can't escape is the video recording of the game. All you have to do is watch it to see how crooked the officiating was.

[robertlockwoodmills]

Stern is one giant egomaniac, that much is clear. He says Donaghy is looking for a lighter sentence, but "...it's not going to happen." How does Stern know? Is he the judge in the case?

By presuming to know how the matter is going to turn out, Stern lends credibility to Donaghy's allegations, which can't be substantiated or refuted because it's a "HE SAID/HE SAID" kind of deal.. Stern is a control freak who years ago appointed himself judge and jury over every issue concerning basketball...player contracts, the draft, fines for misconduct on the court and off, television rights, team relocations, licensing of products, and officials. He doesn't take advice or listen to people who might be smarter than he is, because he doesn't think such a person exists.

The dirty little secret about pro basketball is that the home team ALWAYS gets the benefit of the doubt from the referees. Whether this is arranged or not is doubtful. It might just be that referees are influenced by the home crowd and want to avoid criticism. But by questioning the motives of a man who has already been convicted, in order to preserve the league's image, Stern shows himself to be more in need of a new image than the league is.

[digitaltruth]

NCAA is more fun to watch than NBA anyway. And MMA trumps them all.

[Bobleblah1]

This cheating and fixing games started with David Stern.
The thing that Stern keeps trying to do is tell people this is all about gambling.
This was NEVER ABOUT GAMBLING.
David Stern says that because he knows no one in America will do anything about gambling.
The truth is that this is about High level NBA executives fixing games for higher ratings.
period point blank. I smell a class action lawsuit for fraud.
I actually think this now warrants a congressional investigation.

[helonias]

When will they get to professional wrestling?

[Wilburrr]

It's corporate entertainment. Nothing more; It's been like this for a long time. If you want to see good basketball, check out your local paper and go to your local high school basketball games. You might even be able to buy a home made cupcake to support a student organization.