The NBA Kindly Asks That You Ignore the Latest Donaghy Bombshell
Yesterday, the Fox News website nabbed the biggest NBA-related story of the day, as it reported on phone records showing a suspicious amount of chatter between disgraced ref Tim Donaghy and colleague Scott Foster (134 calls took place between the two in the same time period that Donaghy confessed that he’d been providing info to gamblers.)
Even though it’s becoming increasingly clear that this mess isn’t going to go away anytime soon, the League is stubbornly sticking to its story. From the NY Times:
Foster was interviewed by investigators, according to a statement released by the N.B.A.
“The government had complete access to Tim Donaghy’s phone records and thoroughly investigated this matter, including conducting an interview of referee Scott Foster,” the league said. “The government has said that they have found no evidence of criminal conduct aside from that of Mr. Donaghy.”
Even though the NBA admits that Mr. Foster had been interviewed by the government, the ref says he had no idea that he was being investigated. Hmm.
“Exactly which part of ‘Rogue, Isolated, Criminal’ do you not comprehend?”, David Stern did not necessarily add.
13 Responses to “The NBA Kindly Asks That You Ignore the Latest Donaghy Bombshell”
Jul.15 at 11:16 am
Eboy says:
They will feel the brunt of this tenfold if the government opens a full investigation into the officiating history. The game will live on, but the public perception can kill more expansion, fanbase growth, etc.
Jul.15 at 11:17 am
Russ Bengtson says:
I’d love to know what they WERE talking about, but I guess that’s way too much transparency to hope for. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Wait a minute, it IS the old boss. Wake up, NBA, PEOPLE DON’T TRUST YOU. And haughtily brushing stuff off just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Jul.15 at 11:28 am
Eboy says:
Lest we forget that the Sternbot was programmed to be an attorney before he was appointed comissioner.
Jul.15 at 11:40 am
mckensm0 says:
We all sit back and think the close relationship between refs, players, and coaches is cute. The way players call the refs by their first names, etc. It’s far from cute - it’s biased officiating and this comfiness needs to stop.
Jul.15 at 11:55 am
David Stern does not believe you … you’re a liar at The Postmen // A Sports Blog // Chicago, IL. says:
[…] Marcel over at SLAM seems to think this is a bit fishy, and I do tend to agree. Although, it’s always a possibly they were sharing workout tips. Foster looks pretty JACKED too. Tags: Josh Hamilton, Scott Foster, Tim Donaghy // SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “David Stern does not believe you … you’re a liar”, url: “http://www.wearethepostmen.com/2008/07/15/david-stern-does-not-believe-you-youre-a-liar/” }); var disqus_url = ‘http://www.wearethepostmen.com/2008/07/15/david-stern-does-not-believe-you-youre-a-liar/ ‘; var disqus_title = ‘David Stern does not believe you … you’re a liar’; var disqus_message = ‘I can’t say the whole Tim Donaghy scandal really has had any effect on the amount of basketball I watch. And the same can be said for steroids in baseball; it happened (or is still happening), we all move on. (This is not to say I don’t think differently about each sport now — when […]%0A’; View the entire comment thread. […]
Jul.15 at 12:24 pm
Brandon Hoffman says:
There’s a fine line here. | | Howard Beck of The New York Times: Foster was interviewed by investigators, according to a statement released by the N.B.A. “The government had complete access to Tim Donaghy’s phone records and thoroughly investigated this matter, including conducting an interview of referee Scott Foster,” the league said. “The government has said that they have found no evidence of criminal conduct aside from that of Mr. Donaghy.” Reached by Fox on the same cellphone number that was in the phone records, Foster declined to comment on his relationship with Donaghy and the nature of the calls. Asked if he were being investigated, Foster said, “Not that I know of.” | | Foster said that he’s unaware of a current investigation. He doesn’t state that he’s never been interviewed by the FBI.
Jul.15 at 1:40 pm
underdog says:
Scott, have fun in the D-League next season.
Jul.15 at 2:29 pm
Tommy Patron says:
I believe the feds interviewed ALL of the refs in the NBA as part of their “investigation”.
Jul.15 at 6:33 pm
BETCATS says:
the chances Scott Foster was interviewed is the same as Courtney Cox passing a STD test
Jul.15 at 10:32 pm
Hursty says:
yuck BET…..
Jul.16 at 1:00 am
The Ghost of Wilt Chamberlain says:
It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how serious the article or topic at hand, the conversation always seems to digress to the gutter.
Jul.16 at 5:03 am
matt the jazz fan says:
@wilt : concerning nba officiating it didn’t start anywhere else
Aug.7 at 12:43 am
Sean Fitzpatrick says:
Gentlemen.
Scott Foster is not involved in this mess. A lot of calls to him doesn’t mean jack squat. If that’s all there is, then his name shouldn’t have been released in the first place. Think of all the reasons you might call a co-worker alot during your job. What a joke. Foster should sue there asses off.
fitz