Former Referee Tim Donaghy Admits 06 Spurs Series Rigged

https://arizonasports.com/story/212...sarver-was-factor-in-rigging-of-spurs-series/

Not much of a surprise to those of us that were die-hards back then.

 

Isn't he in the Trump administration now?

 

This is the guy who went to the clink for rigging games for the mob. He already wrote a book about it all. I find it odd this wasn't mentioned in his book, I know he talked about that series and we know he officiated a couple terrible games in it but I don't remember this detail... it makes it seem kind of axe grinding. Not that it may not be true, I just don't get why he would wait so long to bring out this damaging detail when he has already put so much stuff out there.

 

???????

 

So, if this is true, the reason the refs rigged the series against the Suns was
because of their dislike for Robert Sarver.

Sarver, with his foam finger and heavy handed behavior, who thought he was
the second coming of J.C. Jerry Colangelo, that is.

Sarver, who acted as if buying the Suns made him an instant celebrity. And
made enemies among the refs, probably from his remarks from the stands.

Who was the Suns own worst enemy? The owner, Robert Sarver.

Perhaps a book about Sarver's tenure should be entitled "The Lost Decade".
The most embarrassing decade in the Suns history.

At least someone convinced him to slink his way into the background and
let basketball people run the team this season. I'd like to think it was Jerry
who, evidently, did not do a thorough job of screening his successor.

 

I don't think he so much as admitted anything - he did what he always does, he blames the NBA in one way or another.

 

I think it's axe grinding too but didn't he already explain away the Spurs series by suggesting it was due to the Spurs Super-friend AKA David Stern? Or did that assertion come from a different source?

 

Look there is no justification for what happened. None. If that particular game was rigged (it appears it was) there is simply no excuse. Having said that, I agree that Server is his own worst enemy. The owners hate him. Players across the league hate him. No top tier coaches want to coach here. The FO is more revolving than a prostitute in Amsterdam.

In terms of Jerry what was he supposed to do? His job was to find a viable owner. It's not like he could have grilled every person who knew Sarver. He was an unknown in the sports world.

 

If there was game fixing it's on those who did it. Supposedly we are dealing with professionals here who are paid to do a job. Like or dislike of the owner should not have played a role.

I guess it can be whitewashed by saying people are not perfect, but game fixing is game fixing. There is no room for intentional bias. Because someone does not like an owner is not reason to change the outcome of a game. This is not the time or place to shift the blame to an owner.

On a side note, I think the game fixing allegations should have been further investigated. I think it was much bigger than one referee.

 

Agreed. And I think they shut down any investigation for the obvious PR reasons. The NBA was taking a lot of heat for that ref and big money was at risk. In the end though, I don't believe a word Donaghy says. I'm sure there's some truth in some of the things he says but separating the truth from fiction is almost impossible given that he has a known agenda and advances it every chance he gets.

 

I one hundred percent guarantee this goes on all the time in the present, just as it has been going on for decades in the past. Referees/umpires/judges deliberately affect/change the outcome of sporting events all the damn time - sometimes for reasons of personal grudges (probably most often) and occasionally for far more malign agendas. The various governing bodies look the other way and even cover it up, because if it were ever formally acknowledged, their very existence would be compromised.

Fans can bury their heads in the sand about it, as people tend to do when the institutions they believe in prove to be false, but that is the reality of it.

 

I have no confidence in the integrity of the league but I find it difficult to accept the idea that the NBA actively participates in or directs any efforts towards game fixing (as Donaghy often suggests). Not because they are squeaky clean but because they know the consequences and like you said, "their very existence would be compromised". As for the coverups, I agree. It's standard practice for the NBA (and others).

 

Agree with this. Look it's not the first time or the last time. However, with everything being on TV now and social media etc.? I seriously doubt that it's actively happening all the time. It's not like the old days. If there is footage people are analyzing it to death. If it's the same official? It will come out. I am sure there will be some knucklehead who will do it again.

 

No, I am not saying that the league itself is involved in fixing games, or deliberately allows referees to do so. Only that the league sweeps it under the rug or remains willfully ignorant whenever the possibility arises. Obviously, the possibility that referees might ever be fixing games for profit (rather than merely exercising personal vendettas) is far more serious, and would require a more intentional bit of corruption on the part of any sporting institution in concealing it. But there is no doubt in my mind that has happened on occasion, too.