Tim Donaghy is a former NBA ref who pled guilty in 2007 to partaking in a gambling ring that involved fixing numerous games over the course of several seasons. It called the legitimacy of the NBA into doubt but was adamantly denounced by commissioner David Stern as an isolated incident from one bad seed. But come yesterday the whole story changed and everything now I seen different.
Donaghy gave a deposition to his lawyer claiming that the fixing goes far beyond him, that certain players were ordered to be called differently, that the outcomes of a number of games were fixed for rating and revenue purposes, and that referees, get this, received special interest perks from NBA owners and coaches. Look at this quote from this Fox Sports article:
"The document also described other alleged infractions, including league officials telling referees that they should withhold calling technical fouls on certain star players because doing so hurt ticket sales and television ratings."
"Donaghy also said refs broke league rules by routinely fraternizing with players, coaches and team management and that the resulting inappropriate relationships may have influenced the outcomes of games. He claims one general manager in 2004 made a game-day phone call to referees to encourage them to call more personal fouls against an opponent."
"Donaghy claims referees have accepted autographs, merchandise and meals from team representatives. He said one official used a team's facility to exercise and another played tennis with an NBA coach."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8231176/Donaghy:-Refs-fixed-playoff-series,-other-games
This country needs to wake up and realize this is not an isolated incident, that in the far greater arena of politics this is our unruly reality. And for those who see Donaghy as nothing more than an opportunist, is what he's saying really that hard to believe? There is too much money at stake for there not to be manipulation and there is some horrible officiating that has occurred over the years that can now be explained. Fixing a game isn't a new phenomenon, dating back ot at least 1919 among notable scandals. The game six everyone is now talking about from 2002 between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers does fit the profile for what Donaghy describes in his deposition, but my eyes are suspicious of other games now as well as there have been some whoppers over the years, in the NFL included, where you can't help but wonder if there's a higher force at work. The tuck rule anyone? Everyone immediately denounced Jose Canseco as an opportunist and it turns out he's been fairly accurate with most of everything he's said that is now verifiable. The opportunists are the ones with the ability to create their own opportunities: yes the same lurid elite class that is derailing our country. This is what you get with unregulated capitalism once it has evolved to the level it's at, with the wealth only concentrated in a few. It's also known as the final rung of capitalism, as the rich will eventually undermine themselves. That'll be whenever everyone realizes they're being screwed supporting their system, one thats corrupted by profit.
