One of the latest controversies to hit the NBA as of late are gambling accusations that some of the referees in the game. While some of the referees were named in public , one of them Tim Dinghy a former NBA ref had pleaded guilty to gambling. The NBA questions all of the leagues 60 referees and checked into their personal histories had all of them had come back clean. There has not really been a cover up of any kind with the referees in fact most of them are ready to tell what they know. But Donaghy who served as a ref in the NBA for over 13 years says he can name 20 other referees that were involved in gambling. The NBA has a strict rule about gambling, it simply not allowed . They are allowed to gamble at the racetracks but only during the off season.
Donaghy plead guilty in a United States District Court in Brooklyn in August . The charges were conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce. He faces up to 25 years in prison. There is currently an internal investigation being done on the referees. The investigation is being conducted by a former prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz who was hired by the NBA.
Other referees claim that Donaghy who has offered to name 20 other refs is claiming to do so in order to get a reduced sentence. None of the referees where surprised when Donaghy wanted to tell his story. Most of the referees did say that they believe that Donaghy was the only ref to gamble when they were all instructed not to. It has been reported that Donaghy has given information on several games in which he reportedly had knowledge of gambling by other referees.
The league has said they would not be surprised at some gambling going he is pretty sure that refs have purchased lottery tickets or played bingo but he said it would take more than that to fire a referee. So it remains to seen whether or not any other charges will be filed against the other referees at least until the investigation is complete.
NBA and Gambling Refs
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