After Tim Donaghy: How the NBA Should Clean Up Its Act

Beleaguered NBA referee Tim Donaghy is innocent until proven guilty in an American court of law. Not so in the court of U.S. public opinion. The evidence mounts. And there are bigger issues to address.

A recent ESPN.com article by Wayne Drehs is particularly damning. In it, Drehs cites evidence that NBA teams hit the Over on Las Vegas lines 57 percent of the time in games Donaghy officiated during the two seasons under investigation, compared to a league-wide average of roughly 50 percent.

In the two seasons before that, teams hit the Over just 44 percent of the time in Donaghy's games.

The odds of such a fluctuation, according to Drehs, are one in 1,000.

Even more troubling, Drehs continues, are the actual outcomes of the games in question. In January 2007, there were 10 straight games officiated by Donaghy in which "big money" was wagered—as indicated by a point-spread shift of 1.5 or more points before tip off.

The big money won all 10 times. 

10...straight...times.

I watched part of David Stern's Tuesday interview on ESPN. David's last name was apropos of his demeanor.

The Commissioner was circumspect in word choice but open in attitude. Stern has a huge public relations elephant to eat—one bite at a time.

To his credit, Stern seemed to be as honest as he could. One of the things he mentioned was the importance of determining what could and couldn't be said publicly, so that he could go on the air sooner rather than later.

The Donaghy case will have lasting effects, both for the NBA and pro sports in general. Gambling has been a part of human civilization for at least as long as the "first profession." The Bible mentions "casting lots" for Jesus' garments. A form of dice has been found in ancient Egypt. Who knows—maybe the Neanderthals laid bets on who could take down the biggest mammoth.

And gambling is bigger now than ever before.

I live in Connecticut. We used to have more legal ways to gamble than any other state. That was before jai-alai and dog racing left.

Bookmaking, meanwhile, exists in every state in the union. And Donaghy's crimes prove that the "firewall" between bookies and our beloved sports needs reexamining.

When asked how to tell the difference between an honest call and one with hidden intent, Stern thought for a moment and said, —That's a good question.

He went on to say that the league would do everything in its power to find ways to make those determinations.

Stern referenced the German football league's experience with corrupt referees, and noted that the league was able to get past the scandal while keeping its integrity intact.

If the issue is properly addressed, a whole lot of good can come out of the Donaghy saga. In particular, the arbitrary appearance of calls and the lack of methodology to effectively police the league's officials both need reforming.

Even the best changes won t completely close the door on corrupt refs—but at least they'll make the door smaller. The best the NBA can do is limit the potential impact of devious officiating, not eliminate it.

Don't count on that happening—ever.

One suggestion is closer monitoring of referees' finances, which we've been told is already on the agenda. Short of wiretaps which are used by the CIA and FBI, who still have disloyal agents among their ranks it's not clear what other options the NBA has to work with.

Stern said that the league will learn what it can from the examples set by other sports. Other sports will also reexamine their own systems of prevention and enforcement, I'm sure.

Two other proposals on the board include setting up a challenge and review system —  the NFL and making refs available to the media after games to explain calls. To those, I would add the following:

1) Monitoring gambling sites to evaluate information being discussed.

2) Setting up a statistical database for each ref to evaluate long-term trends and changes.

3) Eliminating biased calls for stars, home teams, and rookies.

I've always wondered why Larry Bird and Michael Jordan needed the help of the referees in the first place. If anything, it should be the opposite: Make it a little harder on them.

But seriously—at least make it consistent for everybody.

What's so hard about that?

I'm willing to concede that a tightening or loosening of foul calls might be appropriate at different points in a game but again, be consistent.

I also understand that fans judge calls through biased eyes. They always feel that "their guys" get screwed. But take note: Fans are the final arbiters of what they will pay to see.

While some watchers have already been pushed away from pro basketball, those who love the game will put up with a lot. I include myself in that group.

Given that Donaghy looks at this point to be an isolated rogue referee, I m not turning in my League Pass. But I am watching for the league s response to the wider problems that made it possible for Donaghy to escape detection for so long.

David Stern, league officials, the referees' union, and anyone affiliated with the NBA's monitoring and enforcement apparatus should be downright embarrassed to have been caught so unaware. 

Red flags were there.

For the record, Stern said the first day he was made aware of the allegations against Donaghy was June 20th—not sooner, as some have thought.

I've read that Tim was first in total fouls called, first in ejections, and first in fouling players out among officials around the league. Those statistical aberrations should have been reason enough to investigate him—to say nothing of the dramatic fluctuations in his performance against Vegas lines.

As 9/11 changed how U.S. security forces operate, so should the Donaghy case change the operational standards of the NBA.

Oh yeah. One more thing:

I'd advise ending the association with Las Vegas for the summer leagues. Talk about poor judgment on the NBA s part: Let's drop a bunch of naive young players with fat new contracts into the gambling capital of the world. Then, hypocritically, take them back to the home camps where team advisors will tell them to be careful with their money. 

The stupidity boggles the mind.

Let the kids play in Boise, Bridgeport, or Madison Square Garden.

Anywhere but Vegas.

At least then the NBA's message will be consistent.

This piece also appeared on the site Celtics 17.

 

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