One part that pops out in my mind...I looked it up from the transcript: Question: Mr. Donaghy has not been convicted or charged with anything so, what evidence do you have that he's guilty of having bet on games? Stern: His lawyer informed us that he's contemplating a plea on that subject. Does that answer your question? I'm sure Stern is aware of some evidence but that was the perfect way to answer it in a roundabout way. Like I said before, he didn't have to stick his neck out there for an hour. No way in hell Selig or Tagliabue/Goodell would do that.
Stern has got to go. He has protected his refs to the detriment of everyone in the league and it's a disservice to the fans. We may have royally been screwed in the 2005 playoffs because of this. Seems a bit prophetic now but Marc Stein called it even way back then and now we are seeing the fruits of Van Gundy's words. The 2007 NBA scandal. Marc Stein - 2005 Playoffs Mavs vs Rockets "If Van Gundy – or anyone else – could corroborate his claim Yao is being specifically targeted, lots of us would owe him an engraved apology ... and, of far greater importance, the NBA's credibility would suffer immeasurably from one of its biggest scandals ever."
too little too late. there have been waaay too many ridiculous calls in the past few years, and last season was just crazy. A responsible commissioner would have addressed this a long time ago. I love the NBA, but the superstar treatment has left a very bad taste in my mouth.
Yeah, I can see that as well although I could see how the union would sqawk at a clause in the contract that calls for instant termination if evidence of gambling is uncovered. Stern did say that NBA employees are prohibited from engaging in any organized gambling activities like casinos. I'm told that the 2005 incident was that he visited a casino in Atlantic City and that his neighbor ratted him out. Stern did say that they are allowed to visit horse racing tracks in the summer because it's the off season. But if this guy was placing bets with a bookie over the phone ala Pete Rose, then unless the NBA had his phones tapped or his bank accounts under continuous scrutiny, then there's no way they could have know what he was up to at the time. I'm sure the FBI got wind of him from their wiretapps on the Gambinos. The bottom line is that he could have easily hidden his illegal gambling activity and there's nothing Stern nor the NBAsecurity could have done about it without placing him and the rest of NBA employees under continuous (and illegal) surveillance.
When Donaghy cops his plea and sings like a bird, you'll see a much bigger fallout from all of this. You think all those crappy officiated games were a coincidence?
