OT: Source: Gambler claims 13 referees involved in NBA betting scandal

[DaRizzle]

BOSTON -- A source tells 7Sports that the gambler at the center of the 2008 NBA betting scandal says 13 referees were involved.

Jimmy "The Sheep" Battista pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transmit wagering information in connection with disgraced NBA official Tim Donaghy and served 15 months in federal prison.

The source also tells 7Sports that Battista claims he has the phone records to prove his contact with these 13 referees.

Donaghy served 15 months in federal prison for providing inside tips on NBA games to a professional gambler in exchange for money.

When the scandal broke in June of 2008, NBA commissioner David Stern called Donaghy a "rogue, isolated criminal."

The source tells 7Sports that Battista says he had a "Big-5" of dependable referees with Tim Donaghy being the "King" as Battista called him, who the gambler says delivered a winning bet 78 percent of the time in games he officiated.

The 7Sports source says that on December 12, 2006, the night before the Celtics played the Philadelphia 76ers, Battista says he met with Donaghy and a mutual high school friend.

On that night, the gambler claims they made a deal which according to Battista involved Donaghy supplying information including injury reports and referee assignments and Battista making the bets.

The source says that according to Battista, the first game the two men bet on together was the Celtics-76ers game the following night -- a game Donaghy officiated and one the Celtics covered with ease.

The Celtics were 1 1/2 point favorites, but with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, the score was tied.

The Celtics would eventually go on to win by 20 points.

The source says Battista is making these claims as he works to finalize a tell-all book deal.

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/sports/BO130486/

Damnit....this is the only sport I really care about....clear all these assholes out, revamp the sysytem and start anew

 

[DaRizzle]

Jordan was a hoax...the was a string on the ball and springs in his shoes

 

[barfo]

If I was going to be a mobster I would definitely demand a better nickname than "The Sheep".

barfo

 

[Blazer_Hippie]

How can I get some of this inside info for betting purposes...sure would come in handy. Anyone "connected" please PM me with your mob betting connections. Thanks in advance!

 

[oldmangrouch]

OK, so 13 refs are fixing NBA games.........but do they stand for the Star Spangled Banner?

 

[Natebishop3]

The real question is, if this is all true, did David Stern know or was he oblivious?

 

[oldmangrouch]

The real question is, if this is all true, did David Stern know or was he oblivious?

How about "willfull ignorance"?

Stern has his "unofficial rules" for the refs to follow, and he had to know that gamblers could exploit them, but he no doubt tried really hard to avoid confirmation.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I feel bad for the honest refs that are going to feel the shit storm that is about to come down.

As for the others, I hope they get fucked in the ass in prison. It's not like I ever thought the games were officiated correctly, but I always though it was the league, and not the individuals and the league.

Seriously, how can anyone not question BS calls on Oden again?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

This pisses me off. I wish I had the time/energy to write the 5 or 6 paragraph post that this topic deserves. Suffice to say that while I marvel at the selfishness of others, I should never be surprised by it. Millions of people across the country count on the NBA and other sports as a diversion from their mundane and often unpleasant lives. Yet, for the financial advancement of a few, the integrity of this diversion is compromised, and consequently, the enjoyment is as well. It's maddening, pitiful, pathetic, and unfortunately all too common.

 

[drexlersdad]

we need coaches to have challenges, maybe that will keep them from cheating wildly?

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

If I was going to be a mobster I would definitely demand a better nickname than "The Sheep".

barfo

Especially if you're an OSU grad.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I feel bad for the honest refs that are going to feel the shit storm that is about to come down.

As for the others, I hope they get fucked in the ass in prison. It's not like I ever thought the games were officiated correctly, but I always though it was the league, and not the individuals and the league.

Seriously, how can anyone not question BS calls on Oden again?

But even most of those "honest" refs give the star treatment to various players & teams... So even though they aren't throwing games for money, they are unwittingly throwing games under a false system. I see the difference, but it's not that big of one.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

The part of me that wants to see Stern go down is giggling with glee... while the rest of me is thinking "Great... we get a championship caliber team assembled just in time for the NBA to go down in flames. Fuck you STERN!"

Also, sorry that this thread is shorter than the Roy thread; to be fair, this was started after I went to bed.

 

[MikeDC]

My thought was the NBA should have started fresh with refs this summer when it had the chance.

My thought before that was the NBA's response to the Donaghy scandal was to minimize, cover-up and quiet up the findings of the research they did after the fact, which tended to show a bigger problem of non-compliance with explicit rules amongst the refs. In short, they should have brought the hammer down when they had the chance, but they chose to get rid of the hammer. And then they see that the refs walk all over them and ruin their game.

I have to say the whole affair brought me closer to the "might as well root for pro wrestling" view than I had been before. If you can't put honest officials out there, we might as well.

Nice job, David Stern.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Duh. Why is anyone shocked by this? As if watching multiple NBA games during a season wasn't evidence enough that some refs bet on games?

 

[ironcrotch]

Duh. Why is anyone shocked by this? As if watching multiple NBA games during a season wasn't evidence enough that some refs bet on games?

I don't think anyone is actually shocked but seriously if this is ever proven to be legit, the league as anyone knows it is done for, imo.

 

[bluefrog]

My thought was the NBA should have started fresh with refs this summer when it had the chance.

My thought before that was the NBA's response to the Donaghy scandal was to minimize, cover-up and quiet up the findings of the research they did after the fact, which tended to show a bigger problem of non-compliance with explicit rules amongst the refs. In short, they should have brought the hammer down when they had the chance, but they chose to get rid of the hammer. And then they see that the refs walk all over them and ruin their game.

The NBA did bring down the hammer. They banned tipping the locker room personnel. Problem solved.

Seriously, There needs to be more transparency in the officiating. It's all very secretive and back door stuff now. The media has no access to the officials.

I like the FIFA model for referees. I wish FIBA would take over the officiating for the NBA but that will never happen. Stern likes to have control over all matters in the league.

 

[bintim]

If I was going to be a mobster I would definitely demand a better nickname than "The Sheep".

barfo

Sounds like he may have spent time in Montaaaaaana.

 

[RR7]

Sounds like he may have spent time in Montaaaaaana.

That joke was baaaaaad.

 

[BBert]

Correct me if I'm wrong (now there's a funny thought, that someone could get away with a mistake around you people, LOL, but I digress) but it appears that what Donaghy did, beyond how he officiated his own games, was that he informed certain gamblers as to the league-sanctioned corruption that already existed. He advised gamblers on how he believed other refs would control specific games, and the likely outcomes of those games, based on well-known league-approved practices of specific refs. Hell, what he was telling them was observable by anyone who was really paying attention and could have been deduced by the same computer nerds who advise the Blazers on players. Of course other refs have fixed if not games then at least the spread. Those of us who have been paying attention have railed against the obvious corruption of the league and its refs for many years. But we keep watching and hoping for fairness or maybe just our day in the spotlight. I guess we deserve what we get.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Correct me if I'm wrong (now there's a funny thought, that someone could get away with a mistake around you people, LOL, but I digress) but it appears that what Donaghy did, beyond how he officiated his own games, was that he informed certain gamblers as to the league-sanctioned corruption that already existed. He advised gamblers on how he believed other refs would control specific games, and the likely outcomes of those games, based on well-known league-approved practices of specific refs. Hell, what he was telling them was observable by anyone who was really paying attention and could have been deduced by the same computer nerds who advise the Blazers on players. Of course other refs have fixed if not games then at least the spread. Those of us who have been paying attention have railed against the obvious corruption of the league and its refs for many years. But we keep watching and hoping for fairness or maybe just our day in the spotlight. I guess we deserve what we get.

Overall, there's validity in what you say.

Then there are refs that are just plain stupid.

 

[Minstrel]

The games were already being partly fixed by the league. I watched anyway, with reservations, because there was still some uncertainty to the outcomes and because it was still the best display of basketball available.

I wonder if games being partly fixed by gangsters actually makes a difference.

I would whole-heartedly welcome David Stern being ousted and a new commissioner brought in who placed fair, objective outcomes above marketing.

 

[mook]

Correct me if I'm wrong (now there's a funny thought, that someone could get away with a mistake around you people, LOL, but I digress) but it appears that what Donaghy did, beyond how he officiated his own games, was that he informed certain gamblers as to the league-sanctioned corruption that already existed. He advised gamblers on how he believed other refs would control specific games, and the likely outcomes of those games, based on well-known league-approved practices of specific refs. Hell, what he was telling them was observable by anyone who was really paying attention and could have been deduced by the same computer nerds who advise the Blazers on players. Of course other refs have fixed if not games then at least the spread. Those of us who have been paying attention have railed against the obvious corruption of the league and its refs for many years. But we keep watching and hoping for fairness or maybe just our day in the spotlight. I guess we deserve what we get.

Nice post. The real story isn't about one ref or a couple of corrupt refs. It's about how predictably corrupt the system is. So predictable that with a little insider insight (or as you note, a good mathematician), gamblers could place large bets with a reasonable amount of confidence that they'd pay off.

 

[Idog1976]

Wherever you find lots of power and/or lots of money and little independent oversight, you are very likely to find corruption. The NBA is no different.

Ever since Stern dissolved the independent referee's union and made the refs answer directly to him a veil of secrecy descended. Not long after that he made any public criticism of the ref's a fine-able offense. The ref's and any auditing of their behavior became a trade secret of the NBA.

Then Donaghy breaks and a former FBI agent says that what Donaghy claims appears accurate (tons of corruption).

So what does the NBA do? Kill the messenger and obsfucate. They smeared Donaghy as much as possible and used the "one bad apple, rogue agent" line.

Sort of like what happened with Linde England over Abu Ghraib. Remember how they said it was just one rogue agent? Linde said it was part of psy-ops program. Then of course we had Baghram Airforce base, European "black sites", Extra-ordinary rendition and of course Guantanamo Bay.

When people roll over you need to listen to what they say and protect them until the story is completely clear. Even more importantly you need to investigate their claims to see if they have merit. The person who rolls over should still be punished, but you need to see if their is a larger criminal activity occurring.

Instead of a transparent investigation by a third party, The NBA went into cover-up, smear, spin, minimize and ignore mode. That looks pretty suspicious.

 

[BBert]

Wherever you find lots of power and/or lots of money and little independent oversight, you are very likely to find corruption. The NBA is no different.

Ever since Stern dissolved the independent referee's union and made the refs answer directly to him a veil of secrecy descended. Not long after that he made any public criticism of the ref's a fine-able offense. The ref's and any auditing of their behavior became a trade secret of the NBA.

Then Donaghy breaks and a former FBI agent says that what Donaghy claims appears accurate (tons of corruption).

So what does the NBA do? Kill the messenger and obsfucate. They smeared Donaghy as much as possible and used the "one bad apple, rogue agent" line.

Sort of like what happened with Linde England over Abu Ghraib. Remember how they said it was just one rogue agent? Linde said it was part of psy-ops program. Then of course we had Baghram Airforce base, European "black sites", Extra-ordinary rendition and of course Guantanamo Bay.

When people roll over you need to listen to what they say and protect them until the story is completely clear. Even more importantly you need to investigate their claims to see if they have merit. The person who rolls over should still be punished, but you need to see if their is a larger criminal activity occurring.

Instead of a transparent investigation by a third party, The NBA went into cover-up, smear, spin, minimize and ignore mode. That looks pretty suspicious.

 

[magnifier661]

I feel dirty

 

[STOMP]

The real question is, if this is all true, did David Stern know or was he oblivious?

If this is true, he is either incompetent or corrupt (that'd be my guess) and either jailed or simply removed from office. That he has maintained league supervision of the officials rather then allowing them to exist independent of his control as everyone and their mother has recommended suggests he's probably the biggest crook of all.

STOMP

 

[Denny Crane]

If I was going to be a mobster I would definitely demand a better nickname than "The Sheep".

barfo

It fits, though ;-)

 

[Paxil]

NBA's response (as if they even do) would be that why would you listen to convicted fellon's and a mobster? They just want to sell books.

Personally... I don't buy that... but they will be able to use that excuse to continue with the system as is.

 

[magnifier661]

If this is true, he is either incompetent or corrupt (that'd be my guess) and either jailed or simply removed from office. That he has maintained league supervision of the officials rather then allowing them to exist independent of his control as everyone and their mother has recommended suggests he's probably the biggest crook of all.

STOMP

As much as I hate federal monitoring of things, I do believe an outside party should have some sort of monitoring of a HUGE conglomerate such as the NBA. They do it to most HUGE companies, they should with the NBA. Nothing controlling, but enough of a tap to make sure Stern has to think twice before he makes those "supposed faxes" that has been reported.