Donaghy Alleges Other NBA Referees Involved In Purposely Affecting The Outcome of Games
By RaptorTalkWho knew that when Dick Bavetta tossed Leo Rautins from an NBA game back in the 80's, the fix was on!
Of course, I'm kidding ...... but, it seems that Tim Donaghy may not be the only NBA referee who has been involved in potentially trying to purposely affect the outcome of basketball games he was refereeing.
In an attempt to either (i) come clean or (ii) save his own skin, Donaghy is singing like a bird to the authorities as he awaits sentencing for his crimes relating to fixing NBA games. Donaghy has told the FBI and authorities that league officials attempted to get referees to manipulate games.
Of course, the NBA and David Stern were quick to dismiss the allegations. However, often where there's smoke ... there's fire.
Hue Hollins, a retired referee, said that two FBI agents from New York visited him last summer and asked about both Dick Bavetta and Tim Donaghy, who admitted to working with gamblers.
Donaghy has said that a number of playoff games which he maintained were "fixed" by complicit refs - all under the direction of the NBA league office. Interestingly enough, all these games were refereed by Dick Bavetta. These are unproven allegations, but one cannot be too quick to dismiss these serious charges.
Here's the list from Bill Simmons:
"These were just the games that jump out in my mind (again, I could be wrong):
1999, New York Knicks - Pacers, Game 3 ... LJ sinks a game-winning four-pointer (called a continuation foul by referee Jess Kersey even though LJ was fouled a full second before he released the ball).
1999, Knicks-Pacers, Game 6 ... Knicks last chance to close out Indy before the series shifts back to Indiana for Game 7 ... they get every call.
1999, Spurs-Knicks, Game 3 ... down 2-0, the Knicks get every call in their first home game and win their only game of the series.
2000, Knicks-Heat, Game 7 ... Knicks advance to the conference finals ... falling out of bounds, Latrell Sprewell awarded a timeout by referee Bennett Salvatore with 2.1 seconds left even though none of the Knicks called for one ... Sprewell admits after the game that he hadn't called a timeout ... the Miami players chase the referees off the court after the game, yelling that they had been robbed ... after the game, Jamal Mashburn tells reporters, "They had three officials in their pocket" and Tim Hardaway refers to referee Dick Bavetta as "Knick Bavetta."
2000, Lakers-Blazers, Game 7 ... LA shoots 21 more free throws and rallies back from a 17-point deficit in the final seven minutes ... Shaq plays an illegal defense down the stretch, undaunted ... Rasheed Wallace absolutely gets manhandled down the stretch, yet doesn't get a single call ... up by four with 25 seconds left, Shaq body-blocks Steve Smith out of bounds and the refs don't make the call (the most egregious non-call in recent memory).
2002, Celtics-Nets, Game 4 ... Celts up 2-1 ... New Jersey Nets are inexplicably allowed to push and shove Kenny Anderson and Pierce while they dribble the ball ... a number of head-scratchers go against Boston, including three offensive charges down the stretch ... four different "bull-(bleep)" chants during the game.
2002, Lakers-Kings, Game 6 ... LA needs a win to stay alive ... from an officiating standpoint, the most one-sided game of the past decade ... at least six dubious calls against the Kings in the fourth quarter alone ... LA averaged 22 free throws a game during the first five games of the series, then attempted 27 freebies in the fourth quarter alone of Game 6 ... rumors that David Stern wanted to pull a Vince McMahon and declare himself "The special guest referee" for this game prove unfounded.
(By the way, I would feel remiss if I didn't share this information: Dick Bavetta was assigned to every one of the above games. That's an absolute fact. You can look it up. Doesn't mean anything ... I just felt the need to pass that along. It sure looks bad, doesn't it?)"
No doubt, this is a story we need to keep an eye on throughout the upcoming months.
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