 DON’T BET ON IT
I hope former NBA referee Tim Donaghy remembered to pack a tube of lube for his 15-month vacation in the Florida jailhouse he will shamefully walk into today.
Who am I kidding? Convicts of his notoriety most likely reside in a cell larger than my 700-square foot apartment with a couch, massage chair, high-definition television and private Jacuzzi.
The question is, will they let Donaghy watch basketball games that he may have thrown some coin at on that 52-inch flatscreen? My guess would be that he no longer has an online Sportsbook.com account.
More than 13 months ago, Donaghy pleaded guilty to giving inside information or wagering tips to certain parties involving NBA games he officiated. He even admitted to betting on some of these contests himself. I forget the exact number of games he testified to providing the proposed outcome to but the count was in the hundreds.
It can be assumed that the “party” privy to this information was connected to the inner workings of the American mafia. Donaghy wisely didn’t do any name dropping while on the stand, otherwise that breath of freedom he will take when released from jail might have been a brief one.
But Donaghy did attempt to dole out accomplices from his occupational circle. He admitted to the court system that some of the games he gambled on happened with the assistance of some of his colleagues. Phone records even showed that he had sent and received multiple text messages from another referee three minutes prior to a game he had confessed to fixing.
But the National Basketball Association and federal investigators took the “We don’t want to dig any deeper” approach. Well, they didn’t say that exactly but concluded that Donaghy was a rogue in his illegalities.
So let me get this straight. This guy who lost his job, friends, family and pride readily admitted to doing wrong and wants to try to get all of the bad apples out of the system, but the prosecutors say he acted solely in his transgressions?
I’m just not buying it. I am taking the side of the crook that is already going to jail and has nothing to lose in this instance. This case sort of reminds me of the Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee saga. The trainer was already in big trouble so why would he want to lie and hurt his friend unless he had been required by law to tell the truth, which he did.
Now Donaghy seems to be in the same situation but his prosecutors would rather turn a deaf ear than delve a little deeper in the problem.
The outspoken Charles Barkley, who has a gambling problem of his own, was interviewed on the matter and had this to say, “Once you ruin the integrity of the sport, it is tough to regain it. The basketball family and fans need to know if there's anybody else involved.”
If anyone would know about shady happenings in the league it would be Barkley and clearly he isn’t buying into the fact that Donaghy was a lone wolf.
The mob has its grubby hands in every sporting league and association in this country. They will find their next Tim Donaghy. It is unfortunate for the governing powers trying to exterminate this corruption that they could have a headstart on alleviating the problem but would rather “change the subject”.
Don’t get me wrong, I think this guy is receiving a justifiable punishment, but there are a handful of culprits in this gambling ring. And it isn’t right to punish one without the others.
Will this gross oversight ever be resolved? I wouldn’t bet on it. Although, Donaghy has mentioned writing a book after his time in prison to reveal the entire story, now that could be a bestseller.
The lesson here is simple my friend, don’t bet on NBA games, they are all fixed. I figure I was on the wrong side of about 20 of those altered games so when Donaghy gets out of the slammer, he can send me a check for a hundred bucks. |
