Maybe the NBA should have stuck with replacement refs this season.
After reading excerpts from former referee Tim Donaghy’s book “Blowing the Whistle” that were posted on Deadspin.com recently, it appears not one of the NBA’s refs were capable of maintaining anything resembling integrity in prior seasons.
Donaghy has been spending the past year of his life in a federal prison in Tampa, Fla., for betting on games that he refereed as well as giving inside information to other high-stakes gamblers.
So he’s not exactly the most credible source, but the information he divulges is alarming nonetheless, and it seems to add up.
The NBA is outraged at the prospect of this book being released, and it was initially reported that the league would sue the publisher, Triumph, a division of Random House.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league, “never threatened a lawsuit,” according to a report by CBSsports.com.
Regardless, there is information in Donaghy’s book the NBA doesn’t want leaked to the public.
Donaghy goes into great detail about some of the leagues most respected officials getting involved in manipulating games as well as obeying the league’s requests to prolong playoff series by doing so.
It may be hard to trust Donaghy, but it is even harder to trust the NBA.
