NBA Offseason News – October 3

Public relations people don’t get the due credit they deserve sometimes. The aftermath of the biggest black eye the NBA has suffered for years is just getting brushed over by the sports media and the league can thank its publicists.

The findings of a year-long investigation into the allegations stemming from the Tim Donaghy gambling scandal came out yesterday and it has gotten very little play in the media. The reason why it is getting just a peep is that NBA people did a great job of burying the story.

The release of the findings was straight out of PR 101. The Major League Baseball playoffs are in full swing. With the exception of football and college basketball, most sports go until a lull towards the end of their season and then pick it up for the playoffs. Baseball had a great ending to its regular season and with new teams like Tampa Bay and Milwaukee in the playoffs, plus the gigantic bandwagon of Cubs and Red Sox fans, most of America’s attention is turned towards baseball.

Then you also have the NFL which is in full swing right now and it is just another crazy season as a lot of teams that were expected to be mediocre-to-crappy (Tennessee and Buffalo to name a few) are playing well. And some teams were suppose to be great (Indy, Minnesota and New England off the top of my head) are average to poor. College football is always full of excitement and this year is no different.

So with the sporting world’s attention turned so many different ways it was the perfect time for the NBA to release the findings. Training camps just opened so the only people paying attention to the league are the diehard fans.

Basically the report disputes just about everything that Donaghy had said. No other officials were involving in gambling on games, telling gamblers how to bet or influencing the outcome of a game. Furthermore, the NBA did not assign officials to work playoff games in 2002 & 2005 that the league knew would call the game differently so there series would go on longer and the NBA would get more money and exposure.

There is an 116-page report out on the investigation. Here is the link to it if you’re really really bored and want to read it: http://assets.espn.go.com/media/pdf/081002/PedowitzReport.pdf

Well of course the report is not going to find anything. Did you really think it would? They did acknowledge that the majority of the refs had engaged in some sort of activity that is against NBA gambling policies – but I think if you just look at a casino or watch a Las Vegas commercial on TV you violate some portion of the league’s gambling policy.

The NBA, to its credit, has taken a number of steps to try to clean up the mess. They are trying to raise the awareness of the problems related to gambling. In addition they are providing a hotline so anyone can report anything suspicious. Sort of a referee suggestion box.

More than any other league, the NBA has to have a watchful eye on its officials. NBA referees are the only ones who can make a direct impact on the game. Blow the whistle enough or call a foul in the act of shooting and a team gets to go to the free throw line. In the other sports a foul or penalty can influence the game, but does not have a direct outcome.

The player has to actually make the free throws, but more times than not they will whereas a penalty in football may could prolong or end a drive, but there is a lot more involved. Same thing with baseball. The umpire could call a tight strike zone, but until the batter swings and makes contact nothing happens.

It will be an interesting couple of seasons for the NBA. Referees know they are going to get scrutinized more and the league is going to do its best to infuse it when new referees that they can influence from the get go.