The NBA has been hit with the Tim Donaghy scandal and it brought to attention the ever present potential of corruption and greed that exists within professional sports. Professional sports, and in particular the major team sports are run like large corporations and just because fans are paying money to watch their teams live does not diminish the potential for problems to arise. Fans seem to think they have this unwavering right to having 100% legitimacy of the entertainment they pay for, and they seem to forget the people bringing then this entertainment do not treat it as such. For the players, coaches, refs, and personnel people involved, this is their livelihood and the league (NBA, NFL, MLB) is their employer. Yes these are dream jobs and are extraordinarily fun and challenging, but first and foremost they remain a source of income. Therefore just like any other business or company, issues will arise and disgruntled employees will run aplenty.
And yes, illegalities occur just like they do in businesses everywhere in the world. Take the case of the stock market where the plebeians invest their thousands or even hundreds of thousands, but in reality the only people safe from the collapses of the stock market are the big whigs behind the scenes partaking in insider trading and withholding valuable information that keep their fortunes intact no matter the economic state. I realize it is news and obviously a big story when sports scandals are unearthed, but I do not take it as big as a surprise as the next person I presume. Gamblers exist still and so does the mafia. Just because they are not as prominent in the public eye does not mean they still exert some control in an out of sight out of mind fashion. It is pretty simple: Donaghy got himself in financial trouble and gambling debts. Donaghy surrounded himself with shady characters and surprisingly only sold "pivotal information" for $5,000 to $7,000 a contest, which was well below the debts he had amassed. Finally, Donaghy himself was betting on games with these same cast of characters. Would it be surprising if other NBA refs were involved? Absolutely not, but it also would not be a shock if none of them were connected to Donaghy as David Stern has tried to publicly assert.
Whether he is telling the truth or not, there is no denying Stern has always taken pride in running the NBA along the lines of a corporate machine. NBA refs are thoroughly examined and background checked. They go through off-season clinics, ref summer league games, and go over every game they ref in the regular season and the playoffs. In my own opinion, the NBA is tops among the team sports with regards to its officials, with the MLB umpires trailing a distant second. However, I am sick of basketball fans complaining about NBA referees whenever I am at games, especially with the Donaghy case which is over 3 years old now. Officials have a major role of walking a fine line in terms of controlling a game, allowing teams to compete, and giving the fans their money's worth by watching the big-name players they came to see. I understand there is preferential treatment, but in reality no one player is above the game. The refs will give the benefit of the doubt to veteran players and the stars on the court. However, what they interpret as a foul will be a foul whether it is Kobe Bryant or Calvin Booth. On January 27, last Tuesday, the unthinkable happened. Kobe Bryant fouled out against the Charlotte Bobcats in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. And the game went on and eventually the Bobcats won the game.
Personally I was glad to see this happen not only because of a personal bias against Bryant, who is a great player, but nevertheless it should serve as a reminder refs are still asserting themselves on the court. To foul Bryant out in a game in most people's opinion is absurd because he is the Lakers' start player, but where is the line drawn then? Why on the highest level of basketball would you constantly give a decided edge to big names against their opponents simply because fans are paying to see that guy play? Yes money talks, but in reality those fans really wanted to see the Lakers win. If they had won the game, Bryant's foul-out would not have been such a hot topic for so long after the game concluded. And wouldn't NBA refs, the best basketball officials in the world who take their job so seriously, be doing themselves and the game a disservice if they did not call the game as fairly as humanly possible. To foul Bryant out to most people is one thing, but the fact it was done in the Lakers' home court was probably construed as an abomination. I enjoyed it immensely because it proves these guys are going to try and make the right calls, despite the fact 99% of the calls they make are questioned. The fact is with all the millions of dollars involved, the fans, and the star appeal the NBA advertises, I have no doubt Stern had the team of three for that game (Steve Javie, Scott Wall, and Zach Zarba) go over that game carefully to make sure all 6 of those fouls on Bryant were legitimate. It just goes to show these guys are not afraid to make calls or foul out any player, no matter their strata in the league.
On a personal note, it just seems right that the least the NBA could do is foul out Bryant once in a while, who did not serve any time for an "unproven" rape charge as it was settled out of court with no jail time. I am sure Jack Nicholson nearly wet himself he is so pathetically emotionally involved with the Lakers. Also I do not agree with players fouling out, or at the very least having only 6 personal fouls. Basketball is a much more physical game than people give it credit for, and it puts pressure on the players and the refs to delicately balance the way they play and call the game respectively. Why not allow 7 personal fouls or have no foul out and just insert a rule that puts the opposing team in the bonus once a players reaches 6 or 7 personal fouls? That way players can stay in but their fouls hurt the team by allowing for free throws. Lastly, one of the NBA's major refs was Mendy Rudolph who officiated in the late 40s through the mid 70s in the. Rudolph, like Donaghy gambled often and amassed debts from casinos and racetracks. However, when he was approached by a gambler/bookmaker to partake in a point-shaving and game-fixing scheme in the NBA to erase his debts Rudolph declined. He cited his love for the game and his job taking precedence over a vice that had led him into financial trouble on the side.
