Tim Donaghy's claims of NBA fixing are met with doubts
Doubts and ambivalence greeted the claims of banished NBA referee Tim Donaghy on Wednesday, a day removed from his court-filed allegations that league referees affected the outcomes of two playoff series this decade for the sake of boosting revenue and television ratings.
"I detest someone taking something that we worked hard to accomplish and to achieve and trying to tarnish it," said Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw, a former player for the 2002 Lakers, who Donaghy says benefited from an alleged league agenda to extend the Western Conference finals that year to seven games. " . . . Unless he has some dead-eye proof and has a memo saying something from the league, then, well, you know ... ."
Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, predicted that with the exception of conspiracy theorists, the controversy swirling around Donaghy will have "little impact" on the NBA's future growth.
"For the mainstream fan, the integrity of the game is probably less important than the entertainment value," Swangard said. "It's a issue that they are aware of, but don't care about. Similar to the steroids controversy in baseball."
Yet, if Donaghy's claims were somehow affirmed, sports ethicist and 15-year Lakers season-ticket holder Michael Josephson said the ramifications for the NBA are "potentially devastating."
"On so many levels, you count on the integrity of the game. It's one thing to say that a ref made a bad call ... but if you do some things to increase the benefits to the underdog, it's dead wrong and close to criminal."
Having referees influence games in the manner Donaghy alleged "would destroy everything. It would become professional wrestling," Josephson added.
As the disgraced referee awaits July 14 sentencing after pleading guilty last August to federal crimes of assisting professional gamblers and betting on NBA games himself, Donaghy, 41, revealed in a letter written by his attorney that he had knowledge of referees he classified as "company men," "manipulating" the outcomes of the 2002 Western Conference finals won by the Lakers over Sacramento, and Dallas' 2005 playoff series comeback triumph over Houston.
The Lakers survived to win Game 6 of their series, shooting a staggering 27 fourth-quarter free throws as Kings' big men Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard fouled out guarding Shaquille O'Neal (41 points). The Lakers then won the clinching Game 7 in Sacramento, later claiming their third straight NBA title.
