Donaghy Plea Shames NBA, but Won’t Topple It
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges yesterday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. The charges stem from an FBI investigation involving the referee’s ties to a betting ring that wagered on the NBA using confidential information obtained from Donaghy.
Donaghy pled guilty to charges that he conspired to engage in wire fraud and that he transmitted wagering information through interstate commerce. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years and a fine of $500,000. He will be sentenced November 9.
The former referee has admitted to communicating confidential information such as officials-andgames assignments to his associates, Thomas Martino and James Battista, both of whom were arraigned this afternoon but entered no plea. Mr. Battista attended the same high school as the disgraced referee, and his lawyer says that Mr. Battista is poised to fight the charges against him.
Donaghy’s plea adds another messy chapter to a sordid scandal that has tainted the NBA this summer. Late last month, word broke that the FBI was investigating Donaghy for betting on games that he officiated, and that he communicated privileged information to a gambling ring. The news brought forth intimations that NBA games were being fixed by a corrupt official, and even NBA Commissioner David Stern, usually a hale and chipper man, was visibly shaken as he tried to explain what league officials knew and when they knew it.
Donaghy’s lawyer, John Lauro, told the Associated Press, “Tim is relieved that this part of the proceeding is over and we look forward to completely resolving this matter in the coming months.”
The guilty plea hardly brings closure to the situation. The charges only dealt with the communication of information useful to betting, and the actions in question extend only from December 2006 to April 2007. The larger accusations — that Donaghy fixed games — remain, though it now seems unlikely that they will be aired in a court of law.
In an affidavit supporting the arrest warrants for Martino and Battista, the FBI wrote that Donaghy, identified as Confidential Source 1, had his objectivity compromised because of his personal financial interest in the outcome of the games. That tidbit, on page 7 of an affidavit supporting the arrest of a secondary suspect in the investigation, is as far as official documents go in addressing the more serious charges leveled against Donaghy.
If cases against Martino and Battista are quietly resolved, then the NBA will have dodged a bullet. Yes, the scandal will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many fans and there are thousands of sports fans who had already written off the NBA due to dubious officiating. However, this scandal won’t ruin the league or its image with its growing legion of hard-core fans internationally any more than the “Malice at the Palace,” in 2004 when Indiana Pacers forwards Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson went into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills and attacked Detroit fans after cups and soft drinks were hurled at them.
We’re in an age where athletes and the sports themselves are so often subject of shameful activities that it’s barely newsworthy. Baseball players are suspected of using a wide variety of performance enhancing drugs, and hardly a week passes where a football player doesn’t get in trouble with the law. Soccer has had both refereeing and fan behavior scandals. College basketball has had pointshaving scandals. This isn’t the first problem that the NBA has had to muddle through, though it is the first that attacks the integrity of the game. But if the FBI affidavit is right — Donaghy’s unethical and illegal activities are limited to a few months and involve the crimes he’s admitted — then this mess will fade from view quickly.
By the time Donaghy is sentenced, real NBA fans will be comparing the debuts of heralded rookies Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, and they will be sizing up the chances of the San Antonio Spurs repeating as champs. Donaghy’s name will mostly be a chant of aggrieved fans when a whistle doesn’t go their team’s way. Sure sports fans love scandals, but they love their games more.
