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Basketball Ref Commits Foul
A National Basketball Association referee has gambled and lost-big time! Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee for 13 seasons, confessed to charges of illegal gambling. During the last four years, Donaghy not only placed bets on games but also provided tips and confidential information to other gamblers.
Donaghy admitted that being a referee put him in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games. Donaghy had master referee schedules that detailed which officials would be at which games. The NBA does not reveal the names of referees until game time. Donaghy used this, along with information about relations between teams and referees and the physical condition of some players, to pick which teams might win a game. When he correctly picked the winner, Donaghy was paid $5,000.
The 40-year-old Donaghy faces serious time for his crime -- a maximum of 25 years in prison -- and he must pay back $30,000 he earned from the bets to the government. But the bigger impact of the betting scandal is the doubt it has planted in the minds of fans. Though NBA commissioner David Stern has called Donaghy "a rogue isolated criminal", many wonder if referee gambling is a more widespread problem. Is it possible a certain team won because of what Donaghy or other referees did?
I'm Lucy and that's what happened in Sports this week!
What do you think? Are other referees and umpires betting on games? Let me know in my Call Out!
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