A Stern Rebuke

NBA Ref Tim Donaghy pled guilty today to wagering on basketball games and conveying insider information to gamblers. So far, he has neither been charged with nor pled to fixing games either by influencing the win/loss or the point spread. But it is very hard to believe that his wagering on games that he officiated didn’t have some slight influence on his impartiality.

Commissioner David Stern promises to protect the integrity of the game. He was shocked at this betrayal by Donaghy and swears it is the action of only one solitary rogue. Without going to mysterious referees on some grassy knoll, in the absence of more information, this does seem to be wishful thinking. Pre-mature assurances aren’t worth much.

Stern claims to have nearly obsessive security procedures. Refs are monitored, each game taped and every foul reviewed after play. Okay, that’s pretty good in terms of what the CIA would call technical intelligence. How about human intelligence, and by that I mean people, percipient witnesses? Not so good.

If players or coaches even raise the possibility that a ref is not objective, this is seen as an attack on the integrity of the game, and big fines are issued. Got that? Reporting the suspicion of malfeasance is the crime. Only in-house appointed NBA officials can raise questions. Participants who have the most and closest experience must remain silent in their suspicions.

This is like trying to understand the Middle East by Satellite photos, without even accepting reports from the people on the ground. With American soldiers working with Iraqi military, don’t you think we would like their evaluation of who is with us and whom they suspect is not fully on our side? You bet we would. But not the NBA. Their policy of player/coach silence calls into question the integrity of the game and the commitment of the commissioner.