Disgraced ex-ref Donaghy says NBA pressuring officials to side with Nets

festeringZit · Apr 25, 2014

I think we need to define "rigged" before the discussion goes any further.

When I use the term, what I'm saying is that for some reason, certain refs in that 2002 game 6 (Lakers/Kings) were pressured to "make calls" that went the Lakers way. There are a few other games that people have mentioned that I believe the same thing happened. Who or what was pressuring the refs, I don't claim to know. It could be the mob, who knows.

I'm not saying the whole NBA is rigged, I'm saying that certain games have had their outcomes decided by refs that purposely acted in a certain way because of outside pressure. And, those that know me in here for the past 10 years know that I'm far from a conspiracy nut.

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

I am not a conspiracy theory guy, but why did Cuban recently come out and say the NBA is in need of more transparency?

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

festeringZit said:
I think we need to define "rigged" before the discussion goes any further.

When I use the term, what I'm saying is that for some reason, certain refs in that 2002 game 6 (Lakers/Kings) were pressured to "make calls" that went the Lakers way. There are a few other games that people have mentioned that I believe the same thing happened. Who or what was pressuring the refs, I don't claim to know. It could be the mob, who knows.

I'm not saying the whole NBA is rigged, I'm saying that certain games have had their outcomes decided by refs that purposely acted in a certain way because of outside pressure. And, those that know me in here for the past 10 years know that I'm far from a conspiracy nut.

I think you phrased it much better than I did.

vitterd · Apr 25, 2014

festeringZit said:
I think we need to define "rigged" before the discussion goes any further.

When I use the term, what I'm saying is that for some reason, certain refs in that 2002 game 6 (Lakers/Kings) were pressured to "make calls" that went the Lakers way. There are a few other games that people have mentioned that I believe the same thing happened. Who or what was pressuring the refs, I don't claim to know. It could be the mob, who knows.

I'm not saying the whole NBA is rigged, I'm saying that certain games have had their outcomes decided by refs that purposely acted in a certain way because of outside pressure. And, those that know me in here for the past 10 years know that I'm far from a conspiracy nut.

I feel this way also. I wouldnt even say the word "rigged" or "fixed" but i truly believe these nba officials get influenced by the preferences of the league office.

akphidelt · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator said:
Here is the deal, tell people league has fixed the draft lottery and game 6 in 2002. See how much your NBA teams are worth or continue to net $20M and keep your mouth shut. The NBA is not wrestling, but maybe in Alaska everything is on the up and up, but in the real world, everything revolves around money.

Imagine if Dick Bevatta came out and said he helped fix games. Goodbye pension, NBA PR machine in full-swing. After 1 interview whose ear does dick have. Look at how bad Jose Canesco's life turned out and he was correct about what he said.

Stern didn't go to owners and say the NBA is rigged. Stevie Wonder could see it.

The NBA does revolve around money. It makes much more money with a game based on integrity than a game that people think is rigged. And if it were rigged people will talk. Bevatta can make far more money writing a book about how the NBA is rigged than his pension. Stern knew that, Silver knows that. They would not put their careers and lives in jeopardy by pushing that liability on to a referee making very little money. Stern has no incentive to risk jail time and his millions of dollars to get couple more million for the NBA by making a "big market" team win. The cost benefit just isn't there. They would have to be incredibly fucking stupid to put a liability like that on a low earning referee. Not a chance.

And you still have not provided anything even close to proving the NBA is rigged. Bad calls by refs happen, players, coaches, owners, etc will always hate the refs and blame them for their losses.

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

akphidelt said:
The NBA does revolve around money. It makes much more money with a game based on integrity than a game that people think is rigged. And if it were rigged people will talk. Bevatta can make far more money writing a book about how the NBA is rigged than his pension. Stern knew that, Silver knows that. They would not put their careers and lives in jeopardy by pushing that liability on to a referee making very little money. Stern has no incentive to risk jail time and his millions of dollars to get couple more million for the NBA by making a "big market" team win. The cost benefit just isn't there. They would have to be incredibly fucking stupid to put a liability like that on a low earning referee. Not a chance.

And you still have not provided anything even close to proving the NBA is rigged. Bad calls by refs happen, players, coaches, owners, etc will always hate the refs and blame them for their losses.

Dude, you just don't get it. There is more than a few million in dollars at stake. I covered the NBA for 10 years. 2 of my closest friend played in the NBA. People aren't fucking idiots. Hell, I watched game 7 last year with 2 current NBA assistants and one said, I have never laid wager but I would have bet my job that Indy wouldn't play SA in the finals.

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

Net.	Year	Series	Rating
CBS	1976	Boston Celtics 4, Phoenix Suns 2	11.5
CBS	1977	Portland Trail Blazers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2	12.7
CBS	1978	Washington Bullets 4, Seattle Supersonics 3	9.9
CBS	1979	Seattle Supersonics 4, Washington Bullets 1	7.2
CBS	1980	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2	8.0
CBS	1981	Boston Celtics 4, Houston Rockets 2	6.7
CBS	1982	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2	13.0
CBS	1983	Philadelphia 76ers 4, Los Angeles Lakers 0	12.3
CBS	1984	Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 3	12.3
CBS	1985	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 2	13.7
CBS	1986	Boston Celtics 4, Houston Rockets 2	14.1
CBS	1987	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 2	15.9
CBS	1988	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Detroit Pistons 3	15.4
CBS	1989	Detroit Pistons 4, Los Angeles Lakers 0	15.1
CBS	1990	Detroit Pistons 4, Portland Trail Blazers 1	12.3
NBC	1991	Chicago Bulls 4, Los Angeles Lakers 1	15.8
NBC	1992	Chicago Bulls 4, Portland Trail Blazers 2	14.2
NBC	1993	Chicago Bulls 4, Phoenix Suns 2	17.9
NBC	1994	Houston Rockets 4, New York Knicks 3	12.4
NBC	1995	Houston Rockets 4, Orlando Magic 0	13.9
NBC	1996	Chicago Bulls 4, Seattle Supersonics 2	16.7
NBC	1997	Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz 2	16.8
NBC	1998	Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz 2	18.7
NBC	1999	San Antonio Spurs 4, New York Knicks 1	11.3
NBC	2000	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Indiana Pacers 2	11.6
NBC	2001	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 1	12.1
NBC	2002	Los Angeles Lakers 4, New Jersey Nets 0	10.2
ABC	2003	San Antonio Spurs 4, New Jersey Nets 2	6.5
ABC	2004	Detroit Pistons 4, Los Angeles Lakers 1	11.5
ABC	2005	San Antonio Spurs 4, Detroit Pistons 3	8.2
ABC	2006	Miami Heat 4, Dallas Mavericks 2	8.5
ABC	2007	San Antonio Spurs 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 0	6.2
ABC	2008	Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 2	9.3
ABC	2009	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Orlando Magic 1	8.4
ABC	2010	Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 3	10.6
ABC	2011	Dallas Mavericks 4, Miami Heat 2	10.2
ABC	2012	Miami Heat 4, Oklahoma City Thunder 1	10.1
ABC	2013	Miami Heat 4, San Antonio Spurs 3	10.4

<caption> Table of NBA Finals average Nielsen ratings since 1976 </caption><thead>
</thead><tbody>
</tbody>

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

Look at the Ratings drop of when MJ left. Look at the 2 lowest NBA finals of all-time. They involved SA.

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

Look at since 1998, no series that didn't include, Miami, LAL or NYK got over a 10 share.

akphidelt · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator said:
Dude, you just don't get it. There is more than a few million in dollars at stake. I covered the NBA for 10 years. 2 of my closest friend played in the NBA. People aren't fucking idiots. Hell, I watched game 7 last year with 2 current NBA assistants and one said, I have never laid wager but I would have bet my job that Indy wouldn't play SA in the finals.

I get it perfectly. There is millions of dollars at stake going both ways. One way is legit and they still make millions of dollars, the other way is not legit and they risk losing everything while making couple more million.

And I find it hilarious that your statement by an "NBA assistant" is such a grandiose prediction. You mean he would bet his job that a team that lost 17 more games in the regular season playing the best team in the Eastern conference with the best player in the league and two other All-Stars would not be playing in the finals. What a solid prediction. The NBA must be fixed.

SunDodger · Apr 25, 2014

I agree with bigtendominator. This has been going on for so long.

My first taste of League corruption was back in 1993. The Sonics had no chance in game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

Seattle was 28-36 from the line and had 38 fouls called against with three players fouling out, including Kemp.

Phoenix set a playoff record in FT attempts going 57-64 (Barkley 19-22, KJ 14-16) and had only 27 fouls against.

There is no denying the League wanted Barkley vs. Jordan in the Finals, and that's what they got with huge ratings. Crooked ref. Dick Bavetta was the lead official to make sure that happened.

Big market teams and/or star players going deep in the playoffs equals higher TV ratings.

Higher TV ratings means the networks can charge more for ad buys.

The more networks can charge for ad buys, the more they can pay the League at the next contract renewal.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199306050PHO.html

akphidelt · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator said:
Look at since 1998, no series that didn't include, Miami, LAL or NYK got over a 10 share.

It's common sense star players and bigger market teams will draw a larger audience. There is no doubt about that. But what does that have to do with evidence of rigging? Big market teams also attract super star players which makes them have a higher chance of winning. It's just basic common sense. The question is does the NBA rig the games. I still haven't seen any evidence. Like what a shock that the two best players we've seen in the NBA in the past 20 years make it to the finals a lot and get a lot of viewers.

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

akphidelt said:
It's common sense star players and bigger market teams will draw a larger audience. There is no doubt about that. But what does that have to do with evidence of rigging? Big market teams also attract super star players which makes them have a higher chance of winning. It's just basic common sense. The question is does the NBA rig the games. I still haven't seen any evidence. Like what a shock that the two best players we've seen in the NBA in the past 20 years make it to the finals a lot and get a lot of viewers.

how was viewer with LBJ vs SAS? lowest rated ever

it s bout markets

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

listen to simmons first :45 seconds.

akphidelt · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator said:
how was viewer with LBJ vs SAS? lowest rated ever

it s bout markets

You are just saying stuff that's obvious. Of course bigger market teams with big time players will draw large ratings. I'm not sure what that has to do with evidence that NBA rigs games. It's like saying baseball rigs games because the Yankees and Red Sox buy all the best players. Does the league rig it so bigger market teams win or do bigger market teams win because they can attract the best players?

Not sure what your point is.

RenoChazz · Apr 25, 2014

Then why not fix the 2011 finals so they get Kobe Vs Lebron? Which would have been huge ratings, instead we got Dallas? Shit happens, coincidences happen all the time. Some can't grasp that and need some kind of mastermind pulling the strings to make sense of things. I'm with AK on this one.

doubledeuce22 · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator said:
listen to simmons first :45 seconds.

Watching that video tells you all you need to know about nba.. Now that simmons is certified nba guy for espn and abc, he's had to cool his nba is rigged stuff .. But even their biggest fan boy knew.

Also loved when the league owned New Orleans franchise was sold for more than it should have, and a week later they win the draft lottery, which of course is done behind closed doors.. Gimme a break.

bigtendominator · Apr 25, 2014

RenoChazz said:
Then why not fix the 2011 finals so they get Kobe Vs Lebron? Which would have been huge ratings, instead we got Dallas? Shit happens, coincidences happen all the time. Some can't grasp that and need some kind of mastermind pulling the strings to make sense of things. I'm with AK on this one.

They got swept. You really can't be this dumb. They don't fix games right. Watch how games are officiated in certain situations. Coincidences? Simmons flat out says, not sure how stern gets LAL to the playoff.

akphidelt · Apr 25, 2014

bigtendominator said:
They got swept. You really can't be this dumb. They don't fix games right. Watch how games are officiated in certain situations. Coincidences? Simmons flat out says, not sure how stern gets LAL to the playoff.

They are officiated normally. Not sure how you can be so confident in something with absolutely no proof. You're starting to sound like the "we didn't land on the moon" crowd.