With the Eastern Conference Finals about to start tonight, and the potential for there to be a Lakers/Celtics final, about the last thing David Stern wants to hear about is crooked NBA refs.But that's exactly what Tim Donaghy is saying the NBA has been filled with over the years.
Yesterday Donaghy accused prosecutors of shutting down the league's gambling probe to spare the NBA more embarrassment. Here are some of the things that Donaghy's lawyer said the ref told investigators about what was going on in the NBA:
• Other NBA referees gambled in violation of league rules.That other refs gambled in violation isn't a big deal, seeing as the rule that refs can't gamble anymore has been rescinded by Stern and was sort of a ridiculous rule to begin with. But if they were gambling on NBA games, then that'd be a big deal.
• "Particular relationships" between refs and coaches affected the outcome of games.
• A referee passed "confidential" information to an unidentified coach.
The second allegation is a bit easier to see as being a real problem. Considering a number of NBA coaches have been in the league for years, it's not hard to imagine some of them might have good, or not so good, relationships with refs. And my guess is that those relationships with refs can carry over to players as well. We all know Joey Crawford hates Tim Duncan. Which is one reason why we need to get Crawford reffing in the Western Conference Final.
The last allegation I'm not even sure what to make of, seeing as I'm not sure what kind of confidential information an NBA ref would pass on to an NBA coach. But whatever, it sounds sneaky and devious enough for me.
Obviously, most people will say that Donaghy is just trying to ruffle some feathers here, which is probably true, but you can never be 100% sure. Sometimes the truth doesn't always come from the stand-up hero that everyone loves. Sometimes it comes total slimebags.
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