The New York Daily News (John Marzulli) reports: Ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy told the feds two refs fixed the outcome of one playoff series – and that officials were told not to eject star players from games for fear of hurting ticket sales. The bombshell allegations are contained in a court document filed Tuesday by Donaghy’s lawyer. It describes the “inner workings” of the NBA in which top league executives used referees to manipulate games. Donaghy, who pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court to charges of betting on games he officiated, told FBI agents “league officials would tell referees that they should withhold calling technical fouls on certain star players because doing so hurt ticket sales and television ratings,” the document said… Donaghy also claimed a supervising referee told refs that an unidentified NBA executive did not want them to call technical fouls on star players or boot them from the game.
The National Basketball Association issued the following statement today from Richard Buchanan, NBA Executive Vice President and General Counsel: “According to Mr. Donaghy, all of his allegations have previously been made to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney, and they are clearly being disclosed now as part of his desperate attempt to lighten the sentence that will be imposed for his criminal conduct. The NBA remains vigilant in protecting the integrity of our game and has fully cooperated with the government at every stage of its investigation. The only criminal activity uncovered is Mr. Donaghy’s.”