Tim Donaghy On 60 Minutes: Mob Threatened My Family, Ex-NBA Ref Says

NEW YORK — Disgraced ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy tells "60 Minutes" the mob threatened his family to ensure he provided his insider picks to inform betting on games.

"They basically told me that I needed to give them the picks and if I didn't, that it's a possibility that somebody would go down and visit my wife and kids in Florida," Donaghy says in his first interview since his arrest in the betting scandal, which airs Sunday night on CBS.

Donaghy says he bet on games based on his knowledge of other officials' biases for and against certain players and teams. Donaghy says he was winning 75 percent of the time, which drew the attention of the mob.

"I knew there were certain relationships that existed between referees and players, referees and coaches and referees and owners that influence the point spreads in games," he says.

Donaghy again denies that he influenced any games he called to win a bet. NBA officials declined to participate in the piece but have denied similar allegations from Donaghy in the past, saying he is an untrustworthy source.

Donaghy wrote a tell-all book in prison, but Random House said in October it would not go forward with publishing it.

Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months.

"We all have choices to make in life and when we decide to go down that wrong road we would be better off backing up. ... Not only do you affect your life ... but the lives of the people you love the most," he says.

Comments

[countfloyd]

01:32 PM on 12/05/2009

How do you fix an NBA game without the players being involved? Look at the clip of Bryant throwing in a crazy three pointer to win the game. Are refs biased? Yes because they are human. If players act like jerks on the floor then they can expect close fouls to go against them. I would like it to go back 35 years or so ago that when the ref called a foul you raised your arm and then went back to playing instead of all this whining.

[plzchuteme]

10:46 PM on 12/04/2009

Threatened by the mob? Maybe. Corruption throughout the NBA? Probably. Believing anything Tim Donaghy says? Not likely. Chance that Tim Donaghy would be talking about corruption in the NBA if he hadn't been caught? 1 in 1000,000.

[2centsplain]

11:23 AM on 12/05/2009

Not much else to say.

[MsAlyss85]

08:18 PM on 12/05/2009

LOL right on. This guy is a joke who got caught. Shame on you, Tim.

[SFBunkSurf]

06:40 PM on 12/04/2009

We all know this is true. NBA referees are so damn corrupt it oozes right out of the TV set.... I don't doubt anything I hear about their scandalous behavior.

[MsAlyss85]

08:19 PM on 12/05/2009

I used to be a huge Kings fan in high school, and when they'd play the Lakers, I swear LA could do no wrong.

[MillerMan]

04:21 PM on 12/04/2009

The Mob? Well thats a good spin it was the Mob! Got a name there of any "mobsters"? He is a cheat and cost PHX a title that year. And I wasn't even a PHX fan.

[henrywolff]

02:17 PM on 12/04/2009

The NBA is the worst. You can't trust the product on the court. Refs have huge biases.

[WorldGoneWild]

02:47 PM on 12/04/2009

Don King and the boxing industy is sorely disaapointed in you. Boxing has a lock on "bad products" and throwing matches.

[FirstGame72]

12:30 PM on 12/04/2009

There is nothing suprising about any of Donaghy allegations about widespread cheating in the NBA or the response from the media which is to keep the best lid they can on the story (see have how even this article misinforms about the availbility of his book) or the response of the fans, which is one big yawn.
When it comes to big time sports, the illusion of spontaneity is more important than the realty.

[BCP72]

11:48 AM on 12/04/2009

I don't condone what he did! I do believe what he is saying though.. All sports are for the MONEY!!

[Shawna Vercher]

09:58 AM on 12/04/2009

Actually his book is now on sale at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/0615306039/ref=pd_ys_wizard_5

Full disclosure - I'm his publisher.

[FirstGame72]

12:32 PM on 12/04/2009

Ms. Vercher,
Someone should thank you for having the courage to publish a book with a story that most don't want to hear.
So I'll do it. Thank you.

[Shawna Vercher]

10:40 AM on 12/10/2009

Thank you so much for the kind words of support. I appreciate it. This is a very polarizing story, but all of you as bloggers and posters know that there are always two sides to any given story (at least!).

Hopefully people see that we were standing up for the silenced voice. :)

[Palemoon]

10:24 PM on 12/05/2009

Best Post Ever!! I'm glad this expose is coming out to expose just a small portion of the corruption that exists in sports along with alot of the seedy elements involved in sports from the outside. I think this is a bigger problem than anyone will admit.

[dinglebe]

09:40 AM on 12/04/2009

I believe that Donaghy is no isolated case, and there are crooked officials in all major sports. My suspicion is that they bet on the point spreads in games and then do what they need to assure a positive outcome. And by major sports, I refer to the NBA, NFL, and NCAA BB and FB. I'm not so sure about MLB, because only the home plate umpire has much opportunity to control the outcome.

[BCP72]

11:48 AM on 12/04/2009

Good Morning.. I agree w/you! Well said...

[KossAtl]

01:38 PM on 12/05/2009

well you have to include MLB. Umpires rotate from game to game. So all will have many chances to be behind the plate.

[dvsinla]

05:27 AM on 12/04/2009

everyone seems to be afraid to admit refs control the game...