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Later this morning (11am ET) David Stern is set to address potentially the NBA's biggest scandal ever. He's always been the master of spin and handled previous black eyes with precision. How will he attempt to smooth this disaster over on the fans. Can that even be accomplished? I'm eagerly awaiting his answers to these questions:
How closely do you monitor officiating and what measures are done to improve performance (or lack thereof)? During my time at the NBA Summer League is Vegas it was a reassuring sight to see an NBA veteran official on the baseline closely grading referee performance. On many instances, the veteran berated the crew. Is this common, or are more aggressive steps being taken. I just want to be sure David Stern realizes that even before this Donaghy situation, officiating was a serious issue with fans.
You first became aware (supposedly) of unethical behavior from Tim Donaghy last year, let you allowed him to officiate this season. Why? First, I have to make sure this rumor is even true, but I have a hard time believing that it took two years for the FBI and NBA to notice. I have no idea why Stern would allow even the shakiest official to continue when so much is one the line.
Was Game 3 of the Suns - Spurs Series a red flag for Tim Donaghy? This really isn't important, but I'd just like to know if this sealed the deal.
I'm skeptical Donaghy acted alone. How will you assure me that this an isolated incident? Frankly, I'd feel better knowing it wasn't just Donaghy. Officiating has been so atrocious, I'd honestly have more faith in the league moving forward if I knew their poor performance was due to ulterior motives, not incompetence.
Most importantly, why trust that games going forward will be cleanly officiated?
Pretty straightforward, feel free to add your own questions in the comments.
Source: (Yahoo)
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