NBA Referees Betting Scandal

The NBA referees betting scandal unfolded when former NBA referee Tim Donaghy told authorities about a type of insider trading that has occurred on the court for the past few years. The entire scandal was eventually brought to light by the television show “60 Minutes” in December of 2009 when they interviewed Tim Donaghy. 

Donaghy had been an NBA referee for thirteen years. He used his knowledge of the games, players, and other referees to bet on the outcome of many games netting him about $100,000. He was also hired by outsiders to advise them on whom to pick when placing bets on players and teams.

While under investigation by the FBI, Donaghy decided to plead guilty to his crimes and provided the FBI with extensive details regarding the NBA referees betting issues. Tim Donaghy named other conspirators who are currently under investigation and may have charges filed against them as well. 

The scandal is a terrible blow to both NBA fans and players. Not only is this difficult for the NBA, but for other sports that use referees to officiate the games. The fairness and integrity of all professional sports are now being questioned. The NBA Commissioner is working with others to find a way to guarantee that this type of behavior will not happen again.

The NBA will deny any accusations that there are other referees involved in the same behavior as Tim Donaghy. But as a safeguard they are working to put measures into place to ensure that referees are officiating games according to the rules, and not as a way to control the outcome of the game.    

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Tim Donaghy scandal