My Thoughts on the NBA Scandal

We’ve seen bad calls made in all sports that have affected outcomes in games. We have seen fouls called in basketball on certain players based on the status in the league itself. It has lead to much speculation that the games were fixed and intended to go a certain way. Upon further examination, it does bring the question of were the people who criticized officials truthful? It does look that way.

For those wondering what this is about, it’s about Tim Donaghy and his allegations that the league may be fixing games to get certain match ups. You’re probably wondering what the deal is with that and it’s all about two things: money and ratings. There is just no getting around and that is the allegation at this moment in time. How can David Stern just turn the corner? If you look at Spygate and even though I feel that was just a waste of time, this is peanuts compared to that. Here’s the game in question from 2002 that went to 7 games which saw the Lakers win and get the championship in the end. It was the series with the Kings and Lakers where the Lakers hit 27 Free Throws making this the most embarrassing form of officiating that I have ever witnessed. You knew something was wrong but you couldn’t put your finger on it.

Is it possible that the games have been fixed to go a certain way? Yes it is but you want to hear everything first before claiming it. Otherwise, you’re going to feel pretty dumb about this. This is something that David Stern didn’t want to hear but it is finally coming out with these allegations. Even if there are not found to be true, the leagues reputation has been damaged and criticized over the years for its officiating. It does seem that the calls are very inconsistent and that can alter an outcome of a game. It doesn’t have to be the biggest markets with the largest markets but anyone in general.

At this point in time, I don’t know all the facts but I wouldn’t discredit it as being a possibility. Remember people thought Jose Canseco was lying about the steroids usage in baseball and look how that turned out. Stern will never admit that the games are fixed and it’s pre-determined no matter what the circumstances are or if there is any truth to these allegations of referees fixing games. I don’t know if fans will care if it’s fixed or not so that’s a tough call right there.

Could this years playoffs be apart of this whole ordeal just to get a Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals match up? The conspiracy theory says yes but in reality we don’t know. This is after all what the NBA wanted for the playoffs just to get the best ratings possible and the most revenue. Such a shame that this finals match up is going to be a second thought while the scandal is going to continue to stand until something is done to prevent such a problem from happening again.

Will David Stern leave if this is found to be true? No and there won’t be anyone that will try to oust him as Commissioner of the NBA. If it hasn’t been done yet, why is it going to happen now? It may be sad but true. What if he says the NBA is pre-determined publicly? Will anyone watch or even care at this point? Maybe no one will care but something will need to happen big time. Regardless of whether this is true or not, the league will need to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again and get some consistency going with the officiating.