It’s an old, tired saying that cheaters never prosper. As we all know, that’s not entirely true. Cheaters can prosper, at least until they get caught. Just ask Barry Bonds, Bernie Madoff, or anyone from Enron or Goldman Sachs. Wait, Goldman Sachs did get away with it. Scratch that one.
It may not be the prettiest truth about human nature, but in any kind of competition, people cheat in some form or fashion-—even sumo wrestlers. As first reported in Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s brilliant book Freakonomics, wrestlers have come forward to reveal the practice of rigging matches in the 1,000-year-old traditional sport. Wrestlers commonly accept payoffs to throw contests, they claim, allowing opponents to win the required number of bouts and improve their ranking and earning potential.
In recent months, three sumo wrestlers have admitted to throwing their matches, and a host of others are currently under investigation. Rumors of involvement in the scandal by organized crime are also making headlines in Japan. Is nothing sacred?
In this country, a similar circus has surrounded Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and a host of other retired Major League Baseball superstars facing charges of alleged steroid abuse. Convicted for obstruction of justice in federal court on April 13, Bonds probably won’t see any jail time, though other ballplayers might end up continuing their careers in prison yards. It’s still too early to tell how much the investigation has tarnished the sport, but if attendance figures this season are any indication, fans are staying away in record numbers.
BALCO-ball aside, perhaps the most earth-shattering revelations of rampant cheating in professional sports comes courtesy of former National Basketball Association referee Tim Donaghy (no relation to Alec Baldwin’s character on 30 Rock).
After officiating more than 800 NBA games, Donaghy spent more than a year in federal prison for betting on basketball games, including those he participated in. In his subsequent tell-all book, 2009’s Personal Foul, Donaghy did more than come clean about his own trespasses; like a modern day Toto, he managed to pull the curtain back on the Great and Powerful NBA Machine.
Armed with inside information about the NBA’s officiating directives and player/ref relationships, Donaghy admittedly would place bets on basketball games himself and also relay his picks to members of the Mafia. According to the FBI, Donaghy was able to pick the winners 75 percent of the time, a staggering success rate in gambling, and good enough to make a lot of people very, very rich.
The money being funneled into organized crime was enough to raise flags at the FBI, who caught wind of the scheme during a mob wiretap. Though Donaghy made $300,000 a year as a ref, he admits he developed an addiction to gambling, and claims because he was making the mob so much money, the Gambino crime family threatened him, and his family, with death if he ever quit.
But wait, there’s more. Among the book’s revelations, Donaghy blew the whistle (no pun intended) on the NBA’s “culture of bias,” revealing what NBA fans have long suspected—the league gives preferential treatment to star players and encourages referees to do everything in their power to extend playoff series and gain more revenue.
In his book, Donaghy claims the FBI was aware favoritism ran rampant in the NBA and even warned league officials to clean it up or face an investigation. In the NBA and elsewhere, referees are graded after each game and the scores determine who will be considered for playoff contests (where the real money is for a ref). If Donaghy were correct in his assertion that the league pressures its referees to protect certain stars, it seems natural they’d play along with the charade in an act of self-preservation. They’re only human, after all.
According to Donaghy, “make up” calls do exist and referees allow personal prejudices to influence calls. The news really shouldn’t be a surprise to any regular NBA watcher; most fans know Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Steve Blake isn’t going to get the same foul calls as his teammate Kobe Bryant. Even more nefarious though, Donaghy alleges the NBA’s larger market teams are given a distinct advantage over small-market teams, and are given the benefit of the doubt on questionable calls. Every fan understands this on some level, but when an actual veteran NBA referee says it, it’s a bona fide shocker.
Donaghy claims fellow referee Dick Bavetta, the dean of referees and veteran of 36 years in the NBA, would favor losing playoff teams, dragging on playoff series and increasing potential revenue for the league, advertisers and its players. Conspiracy theorists point specifically to the pivotal Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 2002 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the small-market Sacramento Kings. The Lakers got all the breaks, some say, winning that game and forcing a game 7 in L.A., which they eventually won. The Lakers went on to win the NBA championship that year. Did they get a little help from on high? The world may never know.
It’s a fantastic tale, to be sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. The fact that the NBA hasn’t sued Donaghy is pretty damnable evidence that at least something untoward is going on behind the scenes. If only a fraction of what Donaghy said is true, the league needs to take a serious look at itself, and question whether or not a level playing field exists.
Whether it does that or not, the question remains: Was Donaghy simply a bad apple, or was he just the league’s fall guy?
The NBA has of course denied the allegations, claiming Donaghy is just a “rogue referee” who made up a wild story to receive a lighter sentence. I’m not saying I totally buy it, but it’s a fact that referees can influence the outcome of games, and when there’s millions of dollars at stake, as well as a mob element involved, all bets are off—or on, as it were. Despite Donaghy’s story making the rounds on 60 Minutes, ESPN, and numerous talk shows, the rich and powerful NBA has been able to weather the storm and come out relatively unscathed.
So why should anyone care that sometimes the emperor wears no clothes? Sports are entertainment, period. They’re not going to lead us to war or feed the hungry. But as a fan, it feels something like betrayal to have the lingering suspicion that the major professional sports we all pay to see and enjoy might only be about as legitimate as professional wrestling.
Safe to say after hearing Donaghy’s story, you’re not likely to look at the NBA’s playoff games, or professional sports in general, the same way again.
But what do I know? I’m just a bum. And that’s my view from the bleachers.
The Bleacher Bum can be contacted at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 19-26, 2011.