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Part 10: Tim Donaghy on Pleading Guilty to Betting on Games He Refereed After Facing 25 Years
Part 8: Tim Donaghy on Not Refereeing Playoffs After Punching Referee Joey Crawford
Part 1: Tim Donaghy on Becoming an NBA Referee, Making $300K a Year
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Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was implicated in a shocking scandal when it was revealed he was betting on games and allegedly influencing their outcomes. The investigation was first broken by Murray Weiss of the New York Post; Donaghy didn't learn of the FBI's investigation until his associate informed him. The fallout was immense, with Donaghy's lawyer contacting the US attorney working the case, who warned him that it would be better if he turned himself in before the FBI came for him. Despite this, Donaghy still thought he would avoid jail time. The NBA Commissioner, David Stern, reassured fans that all efforts were being put towards the investigation, calling it "the most sacred trust in professional sports." However, despite the potential for it to become one of the biggest scandals in the history of US sport, there was no congressional hearing. Donaghy points the blame towards Stern's power in controlling the narrative that painted Donaghy as the sole bad apple.
