’60′ of Donaghy

So Tim Donaghy made his appearance on ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday.

It wasn’t too enlightening. To sum up: He started betting on NBA games the last four years, simply by knowing the relationships of other referees with players, coaches and owners of certain teams. He claims that his actual officiating was “honest” and that he did not need to fix games because he knew those aforementioned relationships would lead way for victory for the team he bet on.

Donaghy was correct on 75 -80 percent of his bets, an estimate the FBI proved to be correct. He admits doing wrong and making poor choices, but was too enamored by the highs of gambling to actually realize he was doing something that could lead to trouble. When the mob found out how correctly he was getting bets through a friend, they drew his services by threatening they would “visit” his family in Florida if he did not cooperate.

It was through tracking of the mob that the FBI realized a NBA referee was behind all of this. Donaghy claims he made $100,000 off the bets, whereas the mob ended up with about a couple of million. It wasn’t about the money, he claims. It was about the ecstasy that comes with picking winners.

Anyway, the interview wasn’t much. That’s basically the nuts and bolts of it. I hate Donaghy for how he tarnished the game I love, but I don’t know what it’s like to be seduced by gambling or addiction, so I won’t comment on much more. All I know is that I believe it is true that there are other referees who “influence” games, and Donaghy was not alone. I know the NBA wants to believe he is, but no way I do. I’m interested to read his book, which is due to be released soon since he has now find a publisher after the initial publisher bailed, because I don’t have any reason to believe he would lie at this point. He was completely honest with the FBI – something the FBI did not deny – and was extremely cooperative and forthright, so while he may be a convict, I do think he knows what he’s talking about.

I believe him to be the NBA’s Jose Canseco, and you can call Canseco all the names in the book, but liar he is not.

Anyway, here is an article that contains the full interview with 60 Minutes. The article is basically a print rendition of the interview, so it’s a good read as well: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/12624836/disgraced-former-ref-donaghy-details-scam-on-60-minutes