One story that interests me is the issue of referees and gambling in the NBA. Tim Donaghy's interview with 60 Minutes really could hurt the image of the NBA. Donaghy claims that numerous referee's are involved with gambling on NBA games, in which as referee's they alter the outcome of the games. David Stern has come out and denied these allegations explaining how the NBA monitors the activities of the referee's. Donaghy went to jail for gambling on NBA games while refereeing for the NBA, in which he was working with the mob. Donaghy admitted to altering outcomes of games by the calls he made. San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich said he wouldn't want to coach in the league anymore if any other referrers were doing this. Whether you believe Tim Donaghy or not this is a big issue for the league. It makes you wonder as a fan if these games are being altered just like a script of a Hollywood movie. As a big time fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers I really hope these claims by Donaghy aren't true because the NBA is one of my favorite leagues to follow and the last thing I want is referee's determining outcomes of games. The NBA needs to monitor referee's closely so actions like this never happen again. If multiple referees are found guilty of gambling and changing outcomes of games this could be permanently damage the reputation of the NBA.
Agree with you on a lot of points. It also makes you think can this be happening in other sports too? A scary thought, especially being a Cleveland fan, we need all the help we can get.
ReplyDeleteI did not see this interview, but I cannot help but think that the claims that were made by Donaghy could be damaging to the NBA. I wondered why his book deal was canceled. There are still a lot of questions in the aftermath of his revelations.
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