Stern Words For Donaghy

In his first press conference since news broke about a possible betting scandal, National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern expressed both [contempt and outrage] this afternoon for former referee Tim Donaghy—the subject of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe. “I'm surprised, but I guess no more surprised than the head of the FBI [and] head of CIA when rogue employees turn on their country,” Stern said.

According to the commissioner, Donaghy is the only NBA employee he knows of to go Benedict Arnold on the league and to be under investigation. “We think we have here a rogue, isolated criminal,” he said. “I feel betrayed by what happened on behalf of the sport.” Stern called the probe the “worst situation that I have ever experienced” and immediately began to try and restore the NBA’s image by distributing [an eight-page pamphlet] to all its referees yesterday entitled “Bad Bets: Understanding the NBA's Anti Gambling Rules.”

Late last week, reports began to break that an NBA referee had fallen into gambling debts with mafia-connected bookies, eventually [fixing games] according to the point spread so he and others could profit from wagering on the contests. Sources eventually revealed that Donaghy, a 13-year veteran of the league, was the culprit and at the center of the probe.