As sports become a more lucrative business, and as the influx of money increases the prevalence of greed and corruption, gambling becomes an unquestionably significant topic. With the issue coming to the forefront of late, it is important that people try to understand it before they jump to conclusions. In headlines today it has been made known that former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is seeking probation as opposed to time in prison as punishment for his involvement in manipulating NBA game outcomes for gambling purposes; also in the news is Charles Barkley’s public declaration of a plan to take a hiatus from gambling after it became known that he owed a Las Vegas casino (which I will not mention as they probably only went public because their business was struggling and they needed free media plugs) $400,000 worth of loaned money.
First I want to touch on the Donaghy situation; a letter was written to the Brooklyn District Court Judge, asking for leniency considering a couple of things. For one they cited his cooperation with the investigation and the contributions he made toward reform. Donaghy and his lawyers basically suggested that the problem is so intricate that a web of referees, players, and coaches have been involved at some points. They also defended Donaghy’s position by alluding to the fact that he had a “pathological gambling condition.” In response, all the league’s president of basketball operations Joel Litvin could retort was this:
“The letter filed today on Mr. Donaghy's behalf contains an assortment of lies, unfounded allegations and facts that have been previously acknowledged, such as the fact that certain NBA referees engaged in casino gambling in violation of NBA rules. The letter is the desperate act of a convicted felon who is hoping to avoid prison time, and the only thing it proves is that Mr. Donaghy is no more trustworthy today than he was when he was breaking the law by betting on NBA games.”
(For the rest of this article, and my take CLICK HERE)
