Stern allows some forms of gambling among refs

phxrising

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3079309

NBA to revamp ref gambling rules; Jackson, Nunn see roles reduced

By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
(Archive)


Updated: October 25, 2007, 5:56 PM ET

NEW YORK -- Technically, it turns out every single NBA referee was crooked, after all -- although none of them are going to be punished for it.
And, strange as it may seem, those very same referees will now be permitted to gamble in a multitude of ways.

That development, along with a reduction in duties for league executives Stu Jackson and Ronnie Nunn, were revealed Thursday by NBA commissioner David Stern following the league's Board of Governors meeting.

Stern said an internal review had found that all of the league's 56 referees violated the contractual prohibition against engaging in gambling, with more than half of them admitting to placing wagers in casinos. But Stern said none of the violations was major, and no referees had admitted to wagering in a sports book or with a bookie.

"Our ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years," Stern said. "We're going to come up with a new set of rules that make sense."

"It's too easy to issue rules that are on their faith violated by $5 Nassau, sitting at a poker table, buying a lottery ticket and then we can move along," Stern said. "And by the time I got through and I determined going into a casino isn't a capital offense ... I'm the CEO of the NBA and I'll take responsibility."

In other developments:
• Stern said the NBA still did not know for sure whether former referee Tim Donaghy impacted the outcome of games he had placed bets on, saying the answers to all pertinent Donaghy questions will not be known until the government declares the case closed, which cannot happen until Donaghy is sentenced in federal court in January. Stern said the league was interested in speaking to Donaghy and expected to have an opportunity to do so in the coming weeks or months. Stern also said the league had received no additional information indicating that any other referees bet on NBA games or distributed information related to NBA games.

• Stern said there would not yet be any punitive action taken against Isiah Thomas and/or owner James Dolan of the New York Knicks. A jury decided earlier this month that they had sexually harassed a former team executive, but Stern said he would wait until Thomas' and Dolan's appeals are decided before deciding whether to take disciplinary action. In the meantime, Stern has mandated that every single employee of all 30 NBA teams undergo sensitivity training.

• The board heard what "wasn't a very uplifting report" about the situation in Seattle, where there has been no progress on funding for a new arena that would keep the SuperSonics in the city. Stern called himself an optimist but said his "optimism is waning" when it comes to the team's future there.

• Stern also took somewhat a wait-and-see attitude on the question of expansion or relocation into Las Vegas, saying the board wanted to wait to see which of the two competing arena projects gets the go-ahead before addressing the issue further.
Jackson, the league's executive vice president of operations, will lose some of his power in the months ahead. Basically, his job will be divided in two. Jackson will retain control over basketball operations, and a new executive will be hired by the NBA to oversee all aspects relating to the officiating staff. Jackson will continue to hand out on-court discipline and deal with many of the league's international ventures, but will give up his referee responsibilities. Jackson will retain all those responsibilities in the interim.

Nunn, the league's director of officials, will spend more time on the road concentrating on the mentoring of young officials. He also will cease doing a show on NBA-TV that focused on the league's officiating. Stern said Nunn told him that "it's more valuable for him to be on the road than to do his television show."

"We are broadening and taking more responsibility and we are doing it with the people that we have and we're going to add to them," Stern said, "but certainly it's not a reduction of responsibility."

The Board received an interim progress report from attorney Lawrence Pedowitz, who is conducting a comprehensive review of the league's officiating policies and methods. As part of that review, Pedowitz interviewed each of the NBA's referees and asked them whether they had undertaken any form of gambling, which (other than placing wagers on horses at thoroughbred tracks during the off-season) is prohibited under the referees' collective bargaining agreement.

"Everyone violated the rule in some way, whether it was playing poker, buying lottery tickets & but I don't consider it a violation of the rules to buy a lottery ticket or play golf for $5," Stern said.

"About half had gone to casinos over a period of years with no great frequency. No sports books. No bookmakers," Stern said, adding that enforcement of the gambling rule was so lax that referees traditionally held a large poker tournament at their annual meeting.
Some referees acknowledged making wagers with their colleagues on college games between their alma maters, as well as bets in football polls and in NCAA Tournament basketball pools, Stern said.

Stern said the gambling rules in the referees' labor agreement were outdated in regards to changing attitudes toward gambling in the United States, and he said they'd be rewritten to allow various forms of gambling, including casino betting (but not on sports) during the offseason. Stern also disclosed that some owners had pushed for a change to the rules that would have allowed in-season gambling at casinos, too.

Stern also announced some changes relating to referees:
• The identities of the referees assigned to specific NBA games will now be released the morning of the game, rather than 90 minutes before tip-off. Stern said this would eliminate that information being used as currency in the gambling business.

• Referees will be given more training and gambling-related counseling during the season, rather than the past practice having them attend one lecture prior to the season.

• Referees will be subject to more detailed background and security checks, and the league will begin to look at statistical trends in NBA games and how they correspond to gambling trends in those games.

• The league will promote more accessibility between referees and NBA teams, and more formal interaction between them.
 

Mainstreet

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"Our ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years," Stern said. "We're going to come up with a new set of rules that make sense."

I thought a rule was a rule to Stern with no room for interpretation... so enforce the rules already violated.

"It's too easy to issue rules that are on their faith violated by $5 Nassau, sitting at a poker table, buying a lottery ticket and then we can move along," Stern said. "And by the time I got through and I determined going into a casino isn't a capital offense ... I'm the CEO of the NBA and I'll take responsibility."

Where was this flip-flopper Stern in the Suns/SA series where a rule should have been interpreted differently for the good of the game?
 

Griffin

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"Our ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years," Stern said. "We're going to come up with a new set of rules that make sense."

"Everyone violated the rule in some way, whether it was playing poker, buying lottery tickets & but I don't consider it a violation of the rules to buy a lottery ticket or play golf for $5," Stern said.
So, let me get this straight. Amare and Boris were suspended, because a rule is a rule. Because it was "not about fairness, but about correctness."

Ban on players leaving the bench during an altercation is absolute also. Stern made it very clear it doesn't matter what the circumstances are, it doesn't matter to what extent the rule was violated, it doesn't matter what the reasons were. A rule is a rule is a rule, and there is no room to use common sense or judgment. How can the same man now talk about "too absolute" or "too harsh"? How can he apply common sense, fairness, and better judgment now when he refused to do the same then?
 

nashman

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Stern is a 2 face piece of crap. So he interpreted the RULE in a case he chose too and not the ******** rule against the Suns. What a moron letting Refs gamble is gonna blow up huge on him. Lets say a Ref gambles himself into a ton of debt how do you suppose he's gonna pay it off? Some mobster gives him some loans to pay his debt and now he needs to make sure some games come in the right way. What a freaking bafoon, how is him changing the rules and allowing gambling going to help the situation?
 

BC867

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David Stern has just promoted himself from CEO to Emperor. You don't question the Emperor.

Doesn't he serve at the pleasure of the owners?

Are they going to cave and let him interpret the rules as he wishes from case to case? That's what he's just set up.

Or are they going to have the cojones to say, "He's gone too far. It's time for a change."

The answer is obvious to us. They should . . . but they won't.
 

elindholm

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I thought a rule was a rule to Stern with no room for interpretation... so enforce the rules already violated.

Where was this flip-flopper Stern in the Suns/SA series where a rule should have been interpreted differently for the good of the game?

No freaking kidding. Holy crap what a hypocrite.
 

HooverDam

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So, let me get this straight. Amare and Boris were suspended, because a rule is a rule. Because it was "not about fairness, but about correctness."

Ban on players leaving the bench during an altercation is absolute also. Stern made it very clear it doesn't matter what the circumstances are, it doesn't matter to what extent the rule was violated, it doesn't matter what the reasons were. A rule is a rule is a rule, and there is no room to use common sense or judgment. How can the same man now talk about "too absolute" or "too harsh"? How can he apply common sense, fairness, and better judgment now when he refused to do the same then?

You hit the nail right on the head!

Personally, I'm a 'spirit of the law' kind of guy. If I'm sitting at an intersection, at 2AM, at a red light and can see there's no one coming for miles, I run the light, because I know its safe. I have no problem with Stern realizing some of the rules about refs and gambling were stupid, and to not punish them because its a bad rule, however, that seems totally hypocritical in light of the Amare/Boris suspensions.
 

arthurracoon

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Where was this flip-flopper Stern in the Suns/SA series where a rule should have been interpreted differently for the good of the game?

:raccoon:

All of the refs cheating, so he changes the rules.

SCREW YOU DAVID STERN. SCREW YOU.
 

Mulli

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Based on Stern's comments, I will now boycott the NBA.

(As long as I can hold out)
 

Rab

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Stern and his regime have lacked any sort of consistency over the past couple years. He does what he wants, and if he's questioned about it, he acts so smug and high and mighty. I used to really respect the guy as the commish, but it's time for someone new. This is getting ridiculous.
 

TucsonDevil

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50% of NBA refs frequenting casinos???
Nowhere near 50% of MY coworkers frequent casinos.
That's a high percentage.

I was thinking the same thing. And don't try and tell me 'well they travel a lot'... me and my co-workers travel to Vegas several times a year for meetings/conferences.
 

SactownSunsFan

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What a joke Stern has become. His hypocrisy knows no ends, does it? Both rules and recent events surrounding these rules compare quite similarly, yet Stern does a 180 on his ruling for the refs:

- Both were designed to dissuade NBA employees from potentially tarnishing the league's image.

- Because of the potential negative effect a major infraction of either rule could have on the league, both were written strictly so that even a minor infraction of the rule would result in punishment.

- Both have recently been broken in the worst way possible (Tim Donaghy and the Ron Artest Brawl)

Despite this:

- Amare and Diaw get suspended for taking steps onto the court, but returning to the bench without getting involved in the ruckus. The vast majority of fans and media believe this is unfair punishment, that the rule is too vague and "outdated" and plead for a change in the rule that would allow a player some leeway to promptly return to the bench without incident. Iron Fist Stern shrugs off these pleas and gives a big middle finger to the media and NBA fans in the process.

- An investigation takes place directly after perhaps the league's biggest scandal which involves refs gambling on games, and we discover that half the league's refs have broken the gambling rule, yet no punishment, and in fact the gambling rule is changed to allow refs to "get off the bench" and step onto a casino floor for some good old fashioned gambling.

Talk about selective governing and hypocrisy at it's finest. Seems like Stern is always doing the opposite of what is good for the league these days.
 

Rbutters91

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I was recently asked"Is David Stern the worst GM in sports?"

My reply: uhh yes
 

azirish

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I thought the gambling thing was an absolute hard and fast rule. No exceptions.
 

mojorizen7

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Colangelo for commisioner!!!!
Nice call.
What we need to do is get a hold of those David Stern/sheep nude photos that Tim Duncan got a hold of so we can finally get on an even playing field with those bums.
It's rumored that Duncan keeps 'em in Popovich's basement.
Anybody up for sending a covert ops team in there to recover 'em.?
:D
 

Mainstreet

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Nice call.
What we need to do is get a hold of those David Stern/sheep nude photos that Tim Duncan got a hold of so we can finally get on an even playing field with those bums.
It's rumored that Duncan keeps 'em in Popovich's basement.
Anybody up for sending a covert ops team in there to recover 'em.?
:D

Although your comment is funny, I wouldn't be surprised if you are closer to the truth than one might think. I do not see absolutism or morality being behind Stern's stubbornness. Money is what makes most people tick but it is often is disguised in many different ways. IMO, the whole gambling issue is being written off much too quickly and that makes me very suspicious.

I vote Jerry Colangelo for NBA Commissioner as well.
 

BC867

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I vote Jerry Colangelo for NBA Commissioner as well.
JC would probably get alot of support for NBA Commissioner except for his age . . . or rather, the way he's aged.

I've read that Jerry just doesn't possess the stamina for that, or any other, full-time job anymore.

He's only 67 (which is like mid-50's used to be). But he's an old 67.

I'm only one year younger than Jerry and am usually guessed for ten years younger than my age. I'm working a full-time job. Two years ago, my company promoted me from a commission position to Company Trainer.

But I'm afraid Jerry's time for moving up has passed by. It's a shame.

Although I never liked him as GM, JC's a good businessman, very good at public relations, community oriented and much more professional than David Stern.
 

Forrestham

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I get so sick of Stern and his hypocracy. It was a rule is a rele and there is no flexibility when 2 players go 20 feet off the bench. Of course can't we se a problem when referees are in casinos. We lost a game against the Spurs due to a crooked referee. Seems like he is trying to sweep this all undre the rug
 

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