Donaghy Team born January 7, 1967) is a professional basketball referee who worked at the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons from 1994 to 2007. During his career at NBA, Donaghy was unveiled at 772 regular season games and 20 playoff games.
Donaghy resigned from the league on July 9, 2007 before an investigation report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on allegations that he bet on a match he inaugurated over the past two seasons and that he made a call that affected the spreading point in those matches. On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation. However, he could face more costs at the state level if it was determined that he was deliberately choosing individual games. Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on July 29, 2008. He served 11 months in a federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida to spend the remainder of his sentence in a shelter home, but was sent back to prison in August for violating his release term. He was released on November 4, 2009 after serving his sentence.
Video Tim Donaghy
Personal
Born on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Havertown, Pennsylvania, Donaghy attended Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania along with three other NBA referees: Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, and Ed Malloy. In 1989, Donaghy graduated from Villanova University with a degree in sales and marketing. While in Villanova, he played in the school baseball team. According to the National Basketball Referee Association, Donaghy participated and received All-Catholic and All-Delaware County awards in baseball and All-Delaware County awards in high school basketball, but then-baseball coach Villanova George Bennett argued that Donaghy did not play on the university team and no record showing that he was selected for the All-Catholic team in baseball or named the All-Delaware County basketball team. Donaghy and his wife, Kimberly, have four daughters before ending their 12-year marriage in 2007.
Maps Tim Donaghy
Working career
Prior to inaugurating in the NBA, Donaghy spent five years in charge of a Pennsylvania high school basketball and seven seasons at the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and he was chief official for the 1993 CBA All-Star Game. The following year, he joined the NBA, he worked for 13 years, leading in 772 regular season games and 20 playoff games. Donaghy is a participant in the NBA Read to Achieve program, where he participated in an event at the Universal Charter school during the 2002 NBA Finals. The uniform number is 21.
Donaghy was one of three referees who worked the Pacers-Pistons fight at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004, which ended in a fight between Pacers players and Pistons fans.
Donaghy called a technical breach on Rasheed Wallace, then played with the Portland Trail Blazers, for throwing the ball to other officials during the game. Wallace confronts Donaghy, shouting obscenities and threatening him. Wallace was suspended for seven games; this is the longest suspension issued by the league for incidents that do not involve violence or drugs.
Betting scandal
On July 20, 2007, columnist Murray Weiss of the New York Post reported an investigation by the FBI into allegations the NBA referee was betting on the game to control the point spread. It was revealed that Donaghy, who has gambling problems, put tens of thousands of dollars in bets on matches during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons and has been approached by low-level mass associations to work on gambling schemes. Mike Missanelli of Stephen A. Smith Show states that Donaghy has owed and tried to make up for it by betting on the game.
The report sent shockwaves through the NBA. While the league devotes significant resources to monitoring official performance, it only knows about the affair when the FBI stumbles on Donaghy in the midst of a wider organized crime investigation. NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement, "We want to convince our fans that no effort, time or personnel is allowed to assist this investigation, to prosecute someone who has betrayed the holiest belief in the profession, sports, the steps needed to protect this continue to happen again. "He calls the scandal a" wake-up call that says you can not be complacent ".
On July 27, US Congressman Bobby Rush of Illinois, chairman of the Energy and Trade Subcommittee on Trade, Commerce and Consumer Protection, requested a meeting with Stern on the Donaghy issue. In a letter to Stern, Rush indicated that he might call the hearing "if the facts guarantee public scrutiny." He also said that the affair had the potential to be "one of the most damaging scandals in American sports history".
Earlier in the day, federal sources told the New York Daily News that Donaghy would surrender to the FBI and plead guilty to gambling allegations. The Daily News also learned that the bookies in the scandal were two Donaghy high school classmates adorning their mass bonds. The Daily News reported that at the request of his friends, Donaghy delivered the news of the crew performing the game they were planning to stake. The Associated Press identified one of those men as James Battista, a former sports bar owner in Havertown, Pennsylvania; suburb of Philadelphia. Battista's lawyer told the AP that his client was expected to be charged.
At his home in Bradenton, Donaghy initially did not comment on the situation. He reportedly claimed to be a "butler" to visit reporters and spin his sprinkler on a freelance photographer for the New York Times when he was too close. His wife (at the time), Kimberly, gave notes to the journalists who told them not to bother to ask them questions.
On August 15, Donaghy appeared in Brooklyn federal court and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmit betting information through interstate commerce. Donaghy told US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon that he used the code language to tip Battista about the player's physical condition and the player/referee relationship. Thus, Donaghy discloses the secret information he obtained as an NBA referee. Donaghy initially received $ 2,000 per right choice, but his call was so accurate that Battista increased his income to $ 5,000. In total, he received $ 30,000 to pass information to bookies. Donaghy's other high school friend, Thomas Martino, acts as a middle man. Donaghy also admits that he has a severe gambling addiction, in which he takes antidepressants.
Donaghy specifically claimed to provide information about the two games during the 2006-07 season. The prosecutor also said that Donaghy was betting on his own match. Donaghy was fined $ 500,000, and also had to pay at least $ 30,000 in damages. ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson believes that Battista is one of the FBI's main targets, based on the large amount of money he stakes.
Donaghy was released on a $ 250,000 bond and awaited a penalty on January 25, 2008. On June 19, 2008, the NBA filed a request that Donaghy reimburse the cost of purchasing airline tickets and food, free game tickets, and other expenses, including $ 750 in shoes. Donaghy's lawyer says that this is a league that tries to avenge Donaghy for his mistake. A judge delayed the sentence to allow more time to decide how much restitution Donaghy and two co-conspirators had to pay the NBA for their role in the betting scandal. The NBA has claimed Donaghy owed $ 1.4 million, including $ 577,000 of salary and benefits over four seasons, plus substantial legal fees and other costs associated with internal investigations. His lawyer believes that the sentence should apply for only one season - a position supported by the government in court documents.
According to Associated Press, Andrew Thomas, former district attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona, asked the NBA and FBI if Donaghy deliberately chose two Phoenix Suns playoffs. The match took place on 29 April 2007 against the Los Angeles Lakers and 12 May 2007 against the San Antonio Spurs. In a letter to Stern and FBI director Robert Mueller, Thomas said that Donaghy's behavior might have violated Arizona's criminal law, and could face charges there. The decision of the United States Supreme Court at Ponzi v. Fessenden , the federal defense offer does not have a stand on state fees.
Allegations against NBA
On June 10, 2008, Donaghy's lawyers filed a court document alleging, inter alia, that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Region Final between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings was set by two referees. The letter stated that Donaghy "learned from Referee A that Ref Was A and F wanted to extend the series to seven matches The team knew Referee A and F to be 'man company ', always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night it was the NBA's interest to add another game to the series. "The Lakers won Game 6, tried 18 more free throws than Kings in the fourth quarter, and then won the 2002 NBA Finals. -the teams were unnamed, but the Western Conference Finals were the only seven-game series that year. The document claims that Donaghy told federal agents that to improve television ratings and ticket sales, "top NBA executives are trying to manipulate games using referees". He also said that NBA officials would tell the referee not to call technical violations to certain players, stating that a referee was personally reprimanded by the league for ejecting star players in the first quarter of the game in January 2000. Stern denied the allegations, calling Donaghy a "witness, cooperate".
Punishment
On July 29, 2008, Donaghy was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York to 15 months in prison for his participation in a gambling scandal. Donaghy could face up to 33 months, but Judge Carol Amon reduced his sentence to 15 months (two 15-month terms presented together, followed by 3 years of supervised release) in exchange for his cooperation. His lawyer, John Lauro, asked for probation, but the request was rejected. Donaghy apologizes in court, saying, "I'm embarrassing myself, my family, and his profession." Battista and Martino were sentenced earlier that month, each getting their respective sentences of 15 months and 366 days respectively.
Effects on NBA
As a result of the betting scandal, Stern revised the guidelines on the behavior of the NBA referee during a Board of Governors meeting in 2007. Despite the employment agreement for referees, which restricted them to participate in almost all forms of gambling, it was revealed. that about half of NBA officials have made bets in casinos, though not with sportsbooks. In addition, all referees claim to be involved in some form of gambling. Stern stated that "[ban] on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too hard and not very well enforced for years". The gambling rules are revised to allow the referee to engage in some form of betting - though not on sports. There are some regulatory changes related to other referees being made: the referee's announcement of a game is moved from 90 minutes before tip-off to the game's morning, to reduce the value of information for the gambler; the referee receives more training and counseling about gambling in this season; a more thorough background check is conducted; the league expressed its intention to analyze the statistical relationship between NBA games and refere gambling patterns for those games; and the interaction between the referee and the NBA team becomes easier and more formal.
Post-punishment
At a federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida, Donaghy began writing his memoir, Blowing the Whistle: Fraud Culture in the NBA . The book is to cover his NBA career, describes his relationship with "the underworld" during the betting scandal, and explains how he will define the winning team in the game he referees. Donaghy also promised to "discuss the relationship that players, coaches and referees have with each other". The book is scheduled to be published in October 2009. However, the publisher Donaghy, Triumph Books, canceled it because of a responsibility issue. Pat Berdan, Donaghy's liaison with Triumph, said the book was canceled after the NBA threatened legal action - denied by the NBA. Donaghy invented a new publisher, VTi-Group, willing to release the book, which was renamed to Personal Violation: The First-Person Account of the NBA Shocking Scandal . This book was released in December 2009.
During his imprisonment, Donaghy was attacked and threatened. In November 2007, a man claiming to be a fellow New York Mafia attacked Donaghy with a roller cat extension bar, resulting in injuries to his knees and legs requiring surgery.
Donaghy was released from prison after serving 11 months and will complete his sentence at a recovery home near Tampa, Florida, where he will be treated for gambling addiction mandated by the court. He was arrested and put in a county jail at the end of August after being arrested at the health club without permission, when he was supposed to be at work. His lawyer and ex-wife insisted that Donaghy should not be arrested, as he was allowed to visit the rehab center to recover his injured knee.
On November 4, 2009, Donaghy was released from prison in Hernando after serving his remaining sentence.
Donaghy sued VTi-Group, the publisher of his memoir, for not paying it. In June 2012, a jury found VTi responsible for breach of contract. Donaghy gets $ 1.3 million.
On April 22, 2014, Donaghy claimed that the league office would encourage referees to improve playoffs for the Brooklyn Nets to beat the Toronto Raptors, so they could advance to the second round and face the Miami Heat because it would be good for the rankings, whichever it is. On May 4, 2014, the Nets abolished the Raptors after winning seven games from the series with one point.
Prior to Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals, Donaghy claimed that the referees would be required to extend the series for financial reasons. However, the series ends in Game 5 with Golden State Warriors beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1.
Donaghy's team featured in a documentary released in 2016 'Dirty Games - The dark side of the sport'. [1]
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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