Just when you thought you heard it all.Donaghy docs allege refs altered games, broke

[JLEW1818]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3436401

[SoonerBOI]

By now, it is clear that every whistle from this point forward will draw far greater scrutiny. But when there is no whistle, the debate over a non-call is difficult to pin individually on any one of the three referees working a game.

[soonervegas]

I know this guy is scum....but I believe it 100%.

[Eielson]

I don't believe it. It makes no sense. The league would have wanted the Lakers to lose at that point.

[badger]

I'm going to be totally unbiased here. If one ref was getting paid off, then there's always the possibility that others are too.

Reasons why refs would do it:

1- The NBA told them to.
Why: You hate your boss, but he's still your boss. The NBA would do it because future television and marketing deals depend largely on your audience.

2- Someone else paid them to.
Why: If one ref gets paid off, another can easily get paid off too. NBA refs notoriously hate their jobs and dream of the day they win the lottery to leave the league and a thankless job. It is said that they all play the lottery in hopes of never having to deal with whiny bratty players and their whiny bratty coaches ever again... not to mention a league that doesn't defend them. It wouldn't be beyond some players to make deals with refs, also. Remember seeing Jordan buddy up to refs back in the 90s? Also, refs could be blackmailed to by those who would benefit from a game going a certain way.

3- Because they wanted to.
Why: Sick of Duncan staring at you as only Duncan can? Let's get our revenge in the best way possible - make him sit. Make him lose. Make him leave the floor in ejection. Refs have power in a game and if a player rubs them the wrong way, they can make his livelihood miserable.

Reasons why the refs wouldn't do it:

1- Their job depends on their performance.
Why: Making wrong calls consistently is a fast track to get fired. The NBA reviews all reffing after games to determine whether or not the right calls are made and a low performance would mean a job in jeopardy.

2- It's the wrong thing to do.
Why: Bribery? Extortion? Revenge? All wrong thing things to do. This is why a person would be compelled by their conscience to not subject themselves to this type of act. The money or the spite might be there for the taking, but doing the right thing feels better in the long run.

3- Nothing in it for them.
Why: The NBA wants you to throw a game? So what?! The NBA doesn't defend refs to the media, the NBA has a bunch of whiny spoiled teens that make far more money in one season than you make in your entire reffing career! Oh, you want me to make good calls for you, Mr. Millionaire Superstar Athlete? Go to hell, and take your money with you. David Stern can kiss my *** when I hit the lottery jackpot.
---

Advantage: Even. There are as many reasons to do it as not to do it. It all depends on the type of character the ref has. Since the accuser has already been proven to be the low character-type, you cannot take his word for it, because his word is not good.

[GrapevineSooner]

I might find Donaghy's accusations a little more believable had he named names and if another ref had come forward.

That having been said, I do think something was up in Game 6 of the 2002 West Finals. Not to suggest Sacramento was screwed out of that series because they went home two nights later and laid a gigantic egg by shooting 16 of 30 from the free throw stripe.

And of course, there's Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals...:mad:

Even then, Dallas makes all four of their FT's in OT that night, Dwyane Wade doesn't have a chance to get bailed out by Bennett Salvatore, who BTW, somehow paid of...err...earned an NBA Finals officiating assignment last night.

Anyway, I don't necessarily subscribe to the belief that the NBA concocts schemes to rig a series or even a game one way or the other. It's just too big of an organization and the league doesn't need to do that.

But it would help if the NBA did something similar to what the NFL does with Mike Pereira and make it's head of officiating do a weekly segment on a network like ESPN to explain certain calls, why this is a foul and this isn't a foul, etc.

Instead of addressing the issue, they bury their head in the sand and pretend the problem doesn't exist.

[Eielson]

The NBA could have told the refs to rig the game 6, but they would have made sure LA lost in game 7. Who wanted to see LA win another championship?

[Curly Bill]

The NBA could have told the refs to rig the game 6, but they would have made sure LA lost in game 7. Who wanted to see LA win another championship?

It would seem the NBA did.

[Eielson]

It would seem the NBA did.

Why would the NBA want them to win?

[Curly Bill]

Why would the NBA want them to win?

Big market, history-rich team.

[cheezyq]

Reasons why the refs wouldn't do it:

1- Their job depends on their performance.
Why: Making wrong calls consistently is a fast track to get fired. The NBA reviews all reffing after games to determine whether or not the right calls are made and a low performance would mean a job in jeopardy.

3- Nothing in it for them.


Sorry, I gotta disagree with this one. History has shown that refs can make bad calls all-day, every-day, and the league's that they work for will defend them all the way to the end. Granted, some of the better officials will get some of the higher profile games, but that's not always the case. Officiating is one of the few professions where performance doesn't matter much at all. If an official does make a mistake (or series of them), the league will either twist the interpretation of the rules to make it look like the right call(s) was(were) made, or just chalk it up to human error and provide a slap on the wrist for good measure.

And there IS something in it for them, if they do alter games. For one, most officials don't get paid a whole lot. That makes them vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals in the gambling underworld who offer bonuses for certain results. Not all officials will risk it, but the temptation is likely there, considering the combination of low-pay/potential reward.

[cheezyq]

The NBA could have told the refs to rig the game 6, but they would have made sure LA lost in game 7. Who wanted to see LA win another championship?

Not necessarily. The Lakers have a larger following than the Kings, meaning more revenue that way. Plus, the Lakers are notorious for Hollywood turnouts, meaning a higher profile for the NBA. I personally can't stand the Lakers for that reason (they're much like the Yankees/Red Sox in baseball), so it sucks for guys like us that would rather see honest competition.

[badger]

I'm giving officials the large benefit of the doubt, cheezy. Some people really don't care about money and the NBA has fired poorly performing refs. The one I can think of offhand was that gawd-awful official that ended up at the women's Big 12 tourney. Call after call went against OU for the stupidest reasons - Sherri should have had a presser like that outraged Meatchicken wimmen's coach concerning foul calls on rebounding! Anyways, I remember her because she was one of two "she" refs and there is only one in the NBA now. When I was booing call number 12 in that game (followed shortly after by bad call No. 13 and No. 14), the person next to me said that she was a former NBA ref that got fired for bad officiating... I am not sure of her name.

Do I really want to know her name? The Big 12 apparently should fire her too! SHE SUCKS!

Oh, and I'm giving officials the benefit of the doubt. When given a choice between doing the right thing or doing the profitable thing, some will still choose to do the right thing. When given the choice between risking your job by making the wrong calls or doing the best you can to make correct calls, some will still make the right call.

[NormanPride]

The NBA fixes games? Say it ain't so! :rolleyes:

Anyone who thinks this isn't true has their head in the sand. And yes, the Spurs have benefited, and I hate it.

[badger]

I think it is very telling how many series (including Hawks/Celtics, for cripes sake!) went to seven games. I mean, omgwtf, mate?

I don't know what will happen, but the solition does NOT include

1- Making refs answer to the media.
2- Making the refs whistle more or less.
3- Making the refs go through more training or more screening
4- Making the refs robots.

Bleep bloop, R2! The answer will be something close to what they've done for Olympic skating judges.

AND DANG IT, PLEASE CHANGE YOUR THREAD TITLE SO ITS EASIER TO REPLY TO! SHORTEN IT!

kplzthx :D

[JLEW1818]

did it fix?

[Scott D]

negative.

the comments by Hue Hollins yesterday are interesting in regards to Bavetta.

[GrapevineSooner]

Speaking of Bavetta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nyu69Oj1q4&eurl=http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs_display?sub=31685198&site=2847837)

[tulsaoilerfan]

Speaking of Bavetta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nyu69Oj1q4&eurl=http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs_display?sub=31685198&site=2847837)

Looks pretty shady to me, and i'm not really an NBA fan

[GrapevineSooner]

At the very least, it proves Bavetta's a horrible ref who needed to retire about 15 years ago.

And that jlew still needs to shorten the title of the thread. ;)

[Eielson]

That video for the most part was a load of crap. I mean, I guess the Shaq play was probably a foul. I can't really see it very well with this view. With a better view I could tell better.

Other than that, a foul is going to get called almost every time when you stick your hand out instead of straight up. They looked fairly consistent about calling that outside of the Shaq call. People get away with grabbing jerseys all the time. It apparently isn't hard to miss, especially when it is away from the ball.

As for that timeout call, I still can't see him signal for timeout.

I've seen videos trying to say that when we played against Oregon in football that the refs were giving us all the breaks. No joke. I guess if you hadn't seen the game you might believe it.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Maybe NBA refs are just plain horrible; check out the last 2 minutes of tonight's game if you don't believe me

[Scott D]

Maybe NBA refs are just plain horrible; check out the last 2 minutes of tonight's game if you don't believe me

well good ole Dick Bavetta was part of tonight's crew.

I bet there was a mandate however to make sure that both teams finished equal in free throw attempts. His Imperial Highness is starting to use desperate measures to cover his ***.

[Eielson]

Game 5: 31-31
Game 4: 29-28

Yeah, it looks like they're trying to even it out.

[Scott D]

even you have to admit that's impressive considering how traditionally at least for the past decade for most teams to get on average 10-15 more free throw attempts per game than the visiting teams.