July 27, 2007

NBA KNEW THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH OFFICIAL AND DID NOTHING

      Commissioner David Stern admitted that the NBA knew that there were issues surrounding disgraced official Tim Donaghy as far back as 2005 but it was only when the FBI discovered the official’s gambling issues that the league became aware of the seriousness of the situation.  What that means is that the NBA was either completely unaware that Donaghy had a gambling problem (unlikely) or they were afraid to terminate Donaghy because they felt they didn’t have enough hard evidence in case the official sued for wrongful dismissal.  They likely were also fearful on how they would explain the firing to the public.   Either way the league is at fault.  As a result the NBA, and for that matter all sports, will suffer the indignation of a gambling scandal and its investigation because they were too timid to make a decision.

       Stern looked like he had just finished running a marathon when he took to the stage for his press conference this past week.  His puffy eyes and wrinkled cheeks were the signs of a depressed individual, and his slumped posture and hesitant and methodical tone were proof that the commissioner had just taken the biggest body blow of his long tenure.  Rarely does Stern ever look anything but determined, defiant and confident, but this time he looked like he knew he had made an unbelievably large error in judgment.  He could have fired Donaghy long before any of this had occurred, but he chose to wait, to give the official the benefit of the doubt until the league could come up with enough conclusive evidence. Unfortunately, in this regard waiting for enough evidence to terminate might just have cost Stern the league’s image—and any time in the future when issues arise Stern cannot go back to his favourite line of assuring everyone that the league operates with fair play and honesty.  That image is on hiatus for some time and will take years without further incident to improve. The innocence and trust, however, is gone for good. 

      Here are my concerns.  A little more than two years ago Donaghy was brought to the Commissioner’s office to explain a serious dispute that was taking place between himself and his neighbours—a dispute that resulted in Donaghy being sued for harassment and invasion of privacy.  The neighbours contended that Donaghy even went so far as to set fire to their tractor.  At that time the league was also informed, through its investigation into this lawsuit, that Donaghy was seen gambling in casinos in Atlantic City.  NBA officials are not permitted to even walk into a casino, let along gamble in one.  This was the one large red flag that should have sent the NBA into a scrambling mode, and even though Stern said that they had private investigators looking into this allegation (there apparently wasn’t any proof—shock!--offered by the casinos that Donaghy was ever present) this particular official should have been closely watched from that point on.  Since the FBI investigation into the alleged “betting on games” covers only the past two years one has to conclude that any further investigation, by the league, into Donaghy’s actions was not done.

       When allegations of wrongdoing come to the forefront there are two options presented to those in charge.  Either, through the investigation, they let those involved know that they are aware of the issues and that they will be watching for further instances, or they can silently watch and lay a trap for the individual in question. The NBA did neither since following these allegations Donaghy continued to work regularly and, according to Stern, was rated in the upper tier of officials in the league. 

       Stern did state that Donaghy was not allowed to officiate in the second of the 2005 playoffs because of the incident with his neighbours—as if this was punishment enough.  In the following two years Donaghy operated without reprimand—at least publicly—and was among the busiest referees in the league.  Stern said that there was nothing suspicious about the frequency of Donaghy’s foul calls, the size of his bank account or anything else that would have let the league know that this was an official on the take.  But the NBA knew that there were issues surrounding this official—they wouldn’t have investigated his possible visits to casinos if the league didn’t believe there was something untoward about him.  To now state that they didn’t know there was a problem is either through naiveté or incompetence.  

      The league has mandated the protection of its officials through the fines and suspensions of any player, coach or owner (Mark Cuban) if any make what the NBA concludes as derogatory or denigrating comments against them.  The officials are also mandated not to speak publicly or answer questions regarding games.  The officials in this league have been protected, and babied, for years. And it is not surprising that one “rogue” official could think that he would be able to get away with this kind of misconduct. 

       The NBA also states that it monitors each and every game, and each and every call made by game officials.   If they had done so they would have noticed some irregularities, and some coincidences.  Donaghy is, for instance, the league leader in handing out technical fouls, and by plenty.   He was also among the game officials for the infamous brawl at the Palace in Detroit when, among others, Ron Artest went into the stands to fight with fans.  There were also instances where games in which Donaghy officiated there were an inordinate number of fouls called, many of which were suspicious, so unless the NBA accepts incompetence as an attribute they would have at least seen suspicious behaviour.  It’s one thing to accept an isolated game when an official makes an inordinate number of suspicious foul calls, but there are reports, now made public, that there were several games over the suspected two-year span (2005-2007) when Donaghy officiated games that got out of control.  I guess the NBA didn’t notice. 

      They must have noticed something, however.  The third game of the Suns-Spurs semi-final match-up was a disaster.  There were too many suspicious calls and phantom calls.  Tim Donaghy was an official in this game—and it was his last.   Even though he had officiated four previous games during the playoff season, and all within a few days of each other, suddenly Donaghy was out.  That can’t be a coincidence.  The NBA likely knew, at that point, that there was a problem with this official.   Whether they were concerned that he was crooked or merely incompetent, they didn’t risk another abomination.

       Stern qualified his league’s ignorance of the alleged illegalities by stating that if an individual was careful and didn’t tell anyone, including his family, of any indiscretions taking place, it could easily be missed.   This, of course, is a cop out.  There have been many concerns, over the years, expressed about the league’s officials but instead of pressing the issue and agreeing that more needs to be done to monitor their work the league instead chose to pacify the concerns by mouthing platitudes on its abilities to monitor each official while plastering bandages over the mouths of anybody that would deign to criticize them.   

      The league itself, at this present time, is struggling to maintain its place as a strong and popular sport.  The television ratings for its games have steadily declined since Michael Jordan retired—the second time—and the league is coming off a Finals that was one-sided and, more importantly, incredibly dull.

       Stern stated that this is, without a doubt, the “worst situation I’ve ever experienced”.  He also asked the public to give the league the “benefit of the doubt based on what we have done, what we stand for and what we pledge to continue to do.”  The benefit of the doubt will come later—after the NBA has made the changes needed to revitalize its image.  For now suspicion will continue that Donaghy is not a rogue, and that there are others within the NBA framework that are operating with a different agenda. 

       Stern knows that the result from this situation will mark his tenure as commissioner—everything that came before it will be relegated to secondary status.   The true test of one’s character comes when faced with turmoil, and we will see the measure of the man in the coming months.

Preview my new fictional novel A Walking Parody at www.michaelghobson.com

Catch my weekly radio spot Saturday mornings at 8:20 on www.team990.com