Anyone who refuses to believe the NBA is not corrupt is an idiot. I'm sure not everything he says is truthful, but I am pretty certain the excerpt about superstar treatment and influencing outcomes by calling fouls is right on the money. It is becoming more and more obvious. To have a freethrow disparity of 39 to 8 is a joke. Why would the NBA threaten to sue if they have nothing to hide, there has to be some truth behind what he's saying for them to react that way. I just hope the NBA can somehow recover from this tarnished image. I would hate for them to follow suit and lose most of their credibility like baseball.
all it will take is one more ref down the road to feel some degree of guilt, and come out with similar allegations corroborating donaghy's.........as it stands, the league's team of lawyers and retirement/pension plans have all the players and officials in check.....but methinks the truth will eventually reveal itself regardless...
You youngsters on this board may not know this but the culture of corruption in the NBA goes way back to the 60s, 70s. Players used to be all doped up and fights were frequently occured, networks used to tape games and played them back on late night. Obrien and Stern came along later and took over, they did make the NBA successful and profitable with the help of superstars like: Bird, Magic, Jordan and Kobe. However, the culture of corruption never left the game, anyone with an ounce of smart can see that, other posters presented plenty of examples and arguments so there is no need for regurgitations. In the end, the suckers will always be the fans, I follow our beloved Rockets but for now I will stick with the NFL.
I voted no, but only because I don't read these kinds of books. I do put some stock in what he has to say, and read the excerpts with interest. Obviously, all his incentives will be to exxagerate the corruption in the league. For revenge and for book sales, he needs to make them look as bad as possible. He could lie or exxagerate to make that possible. At the same time, the best lies are intertwined with truth. The little things, at least, are likely more or less true. Having bets on who would call the first foul is probably true, at least for a game or two. The article says the publisher went to great lengths to fact-check the claims made. I don't see how that's possible. They could confirm, for example, that a foul wasn't called in a certain game for 4.5 minutes, but they can't confirm that a bet was made. Who else would fess up to it? I think the league reacts very badly to criticisms like these. This reaction reminds me of their reaction to an academic study that found some racial bias in calls made by NBA refs. They could have spun it as a revealing study about human nature, but instead took it as a personal criticism and tried to discredit the research. They want to do the same thing here and discredit Donaghy as a criminal desperate to make a buck. But, they don't have the credibility, even vis-a-vis a convicted criminal, to rest on that case. It'd be interesting to see what would happen if they sued a publisher of this book for slander. Would we get players, coaches, and/or refs testifying (under oath) that certain allegations were true or false?
You Know, I will refuse to read anything that STUPID DUMB **** ***** ** **** *** **** ***** puts out!!!!!! He ruined our chances against Dallas, he ruined everything. So much would be different right now if he didn't give that game to Dallas.....so much....*tear*.
That series still bothers me, we all wanted to see the Rockets face the Suns. Barry, and Sura quit after that season as did T-Mac. The Rockets we're never the same after that season. I'm glad we have new players, but it won't mean anything if the process repeats itself.
This guy has done an awful lot to hurt the game. He's a liar, a convicted felon. He's forfeited his credibility along with his freedom. Any profits this piece of hooey generates should go to charity.
He paid his debt, I want to hear what the guys still in the league were allegedly doing. I would not be shocked if the NBA paid him off to not publish it....and a gag order was part of that payment structure. DD
When (or if) it comes out, I am quite sure I will get it immedaitely and there is a good chance that I will finish it in 1 night...
Its just really frustrating to hear about this, true or not. Everyone on this website has a certain level of emotional investment in the game, and the idea that it could all be completely illegitimate is really discouraging. I will probably not read it in its entirety, but I definitely want to hear what he has to say. What I also want is some corroboration from another ref. It is too easy to believe that Donaghy is just doing this for money and publicity, and for the sake of the league and its fans I hope this is the case. Honestly, it would break my heart to hear that these allegations are true. I wouldn't be able to watch the NBA anymore. (And what the hell would I do Nov. - July then?)
Please explain to me how fights occuring, and showing taped games made the NBA corrupt. You lost me there. If anything that's just poor decisions. Your logic is fail. 'Anyone with an ounce of smart can see that'.
Absolutely I want to read it. Hopefully, it'll force the league to restructure it's referees and also add some transparency to the entire process.
