In light of recent devastating news which affected the NBA when former referee Tim Donaghy was connected with a betting scandal and pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn federal court Wednesday where he now could face up to 25 years behind bars for the conspiracy to fix NBA games dating as far back as 2003, one can’t help but take notice of how other sports fans have reacted to this scandal.

In a superstar driven league where select players have gotten the ’star treatment’ in big games, some who questioned that level of officiating felt validated by the recent charges the 40 year-old Donaghy faces.

An NBA referee for 13 years, the Bradenton Florida resident was best known for two prior incidents in games including the ugly brawl which took place in Detroit between the Pistons and Pacers on November 19, 2004.

The other was a technical foul assessed to then Trail Blazer Rasheed Wallace in 2003 for throwing a ball at another official during a game. After the game, Donaghy was met by an aggravated Wallace who allegedly cursed and threatened him outside the loading area.
At the time, the league investigated and suspended Wallace seven games which then became the longest suspension not pertaining to drugs or violence.

Off the court, Donaghy had issues with a Pennsylvania neighbor in which he was said to have harassed then before a lawsuit was filed, forcing the NBA to keep him off their roster for the 2006 second round of the playoffs.

When the latest discouraging news came down from the FBI last month, the proverbial writing was on the wall.

The evidence found the troubled ref in gambling debt where he then bet thousands of dollars on NBA games the past couple of seasons.

It forced league commisioner David Stern to hold a public press conference and emphasize that officials aren’t permitted to bet on games. In fact, they’re only allowed to go to the race track during the offseason.

The league wasn’t aware of Donaghy’s recent history and Stern referred to it as “an isolated case involving an NBA referee who engaged not only in a violation of our rules, but in criminal conduct” and “the most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced” in 40 years with the NBA.

Regardless, it definitely was a severe hit to the league’s credibility which was already on downspiral with record-low ratings for a dreadful NBA Final in which the Spurs swept the Cavaliers.

With the league trying to clean up its act on and off the court in terms of how their players handle themselves, this was the last thing they needed.

Other fans from rival sports laughed at the news with a few, ‘I told you so’s’ about this scandal.

But what if the shoe was on the other foot? How would these fans act if the same disturbing news came down about their own league? They’d be outraged and probably act stunned.

There’s no way it could happen. Right? Think again.

In competitive sports, most are put into the trust of a an official(s) hands. Kids’ games must have unbiased people involved to make key calls and keep proper order so that heated battles don’t spiral out of control. Something that can happen when tempers flare in the heat of the moment.
That’s where sports officials come in. Their respective jobs are to referee to the best of their abilities and not get in the way of a closely contested game. How do you know when they’re doing their job? When both sides aren’t constantly on them and afterwards, tell them they handled the game well.

How would I know? My father happens to be a referee who can work four sports: baseball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer.

During almost a two decade career, I’ve caught some of his games and tried to be objective when critiquing how he did. For the most part, he does a good job but there have been times where even I questioned a few calls.

That’s the nature of a referee. They’re there to do a job. Many observers think they could be one. I’ve seen and heard some pretty silly stuff at games. One fan even got on my nerves this past year during a basketball game because they were constantly on the refs and almost got into it with a home fan at the half.

That should never happen.I scoff at fans who take it to that level.

The thing which must be remembered about officials is they’re human and can make mistakes such as one at first that cost the Cardinals the 1985 World Series against the Royals.

It happens. Officials aren’t perfect.

So could what happened in the NBA happen in other sports? Sure.

A perfect sport would be the NHL. And I can hear all my hockey brethren yelling and screaming at the thought.

Why hockey? Well, for starters, it’s not that high scoring. A majority of games can be decided by a goal.

Imagine the stakes of a tie game for all the marbles late in the third period. And one of the refs has something on the line. Suddenly, a penalty is called much to the fans of the other side’s dispute.

The team gets a power play and scores with seconds to spare to win the Stanley Cup. But the real winner was that ref who made a killing by making a questionable call which helped decide the winner.

How easy would this be? That’s what professional sports leagues such as the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS and even ATP and WTA fear most.

You can be a good ref or bad one. But leagues are entrusting you to do the best job possible without even a thought such as this creeping in their minds.

Just imagine the possibilities.

We’ve seen gambling prominent in fixing European World Soccer leagues where officials were on the take. Boxing has had problems for years with the legitimacy of judges for a long time. They should just rename them three blind mice. It would make it a much easier and more laughable process.

Recently, an ATP Tour match featuring fourth ranked Russian Nikolay Davydenko came into question due to bets being placed on the heavy underdog Martin Vassallo Arguello as the match neared. The number remained abnormally high even after Davydenko took the first set.

Shockingly, Davydenko retired due to a foot injury tied at a set apiece trailing 1-2 early in the final set forcing cancelations of those bets and skepticism. Since, he’s denied any involvement. Professional tennis sure hopes so.

The matter is being looked into by the ATP with cooperation from British horse racing authorities with experience to oversee if there was a scam involving online bookmaker Betfair which voided bets on Davydenko’s opponent earlier this month in Poland.

What about baseball or football? All it would take is one pivotal call in a tight game late which could swing the balance one way.

In baseball, there can be a number of close plays involving throws to first or at other bases including home plate. The plate umpire’s strike zone also factors into how the game is called and gives ballplayers a better idea of what to swing at.

What if an umpire called it one way? Think that wouldn’t draw attention? The good umpires are consistent for both sides.

In football, there are always issues it seems even with their replay system where you often wonder if they’re at a peep show instead of reviewing a key play because it takes so long.

And here’s the scary aspect. Even after a few of those lengthy review sessions, there was doubt as to whether they actually got it right.

The same could also be said for the NHL which seems to be haunted by this dilemma almost every season. Even when they didn’t play a couple of years ago, they were getting blamed.

Video review must be conclusive to overturn a call on the ice. So it explains why Daniel Briere’s potential tying goal was wiped out against the Rangers in a second round match at Madison Square Garden. The initial ruling was “no goal” on the ice.

But these types of reviews aren’t always cut and dry due to camera availability and sometimes an obstructed view due to Gatorade bottles on top of the net which can make the decision making even tougher.

While the video review is there to doublecheck and get things right, could it really stop a ref from taking over a game and calling a slew of penalties on one side to try to influence a result on the ice? That’s a tough one.

We’ve all seen officials at their worst. Just imagine if doubt starts to enter the equation. It’s troubling.

I’ve been following sports for 20-plus years. At this point, I have to put some faith in the people who are on these games.

These officials are there for a reason. Because they have worked their way up and built up their reputations. If they’re anything like my Dad, then they take a tremendous amount of pride doing their jobs and getting calls right.

It might not be a perfect process but until some crazy machine is invented in the future, it’s the best we can do.

Just hope they’re there for one purpose. To be the best they can be.