Donaghy ESPN interview

Masbee · Dec 9, 2009

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/phil_taylor/12/08/donaghy/index.html?xid=cnnbin

Interesting SI opinion piece about the NBA Officiating scandal.

Most ominously, Donaghy said he was forced to share his inside information with members of organized crime, who made millions of dollars, according to one federal agent, making bets based on Donaghy's tips.

So, let's review: The mob had its hooks into an NBA official, and ... actually, let's stop there for a moment. Think about that. The mob had its hooks into an NBA official. That's a chilling enough concept by itself. If organized crime figures could strong-arm Donaghy into helping them, why would they necessarily stop at just one ref, particularly after losing Donaghy as an inside source?

That's just one of many questions that should be asked of Stern, and not just by the investigators hired by the league, and not just by the FBI, which investigated Donaghy and, as Stern is quick to point out, did not find evidence to charge anyone else connected with the NBA of any criminal wrongdoing. But not finding sufficient evidence to prosecute isn't necessarily the same thing as saying that the league's officiating is 100 percent squeaky clean.

Stern and the league executives should be answering to someone -- perhaps Congress, as their baseball colleagues have had to do in regard to steroids, and their football colleagues in regard to anti-trust issues -- and should be compelled to provide more proof that their officiating is above reproach.

Calmly standing at a press conference podium and assuring us that Donaghy was a "rogue ref," as Stern often calls him, doesn't cut it. And neither does refusing to comment on the 60 Minutes story. The league should make its refereeing evaluations much more transparent and be far more specific in telling the public what actions it has taken to ensure there are no hidden agendas creeping into the way games are called. Stern and the league should be feeling about 100 degrees more heat on this than they are.
Click to expand...

RR7 · Dec 9, 2009

Yeah, I'd say good for Arnold for doing that.

jlprk · Dec 9, 2009

Natebishop3 said: ↑

The things I saw while in the locker room were very distasteful towards Sheed. I saw Canzano attempt to bait him on multiple occasions, and I'm talking obvious trolling/baiting.
Click to expand...

As for Sheed's filtering of the media, it should be obvious that black people attacked constantly by racist white people will of course prefer to associate with other black people. Thank you Sheed for being hardwired to fight bad authority.

ABM · Dec 9, 2009

Natebishop3 said: ↑

I thought it was funny that he chose Geoffrey C. Arnold to do that big interview with for the Oregonian, and Arnold hung him out to dry. Made him look like a racist.

Sheed will probably go down as one of the most misunderstood players in the history of the game.
Click to expand...

Probably so.

http://www.opinioneditorials.com/guestcontributors/larson_20031215.html

What is the Deal with Rasheed Wallace?

Jan Larson

Rasheed Wallace, the Portland Trail Blazers' volatile power forward expressed his displeasure with the administration of the National Basketball Association in a recent epithet-laced interview [1] with Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian.

Wallace, 29 years of age in his ninth season in the NBA, is the fourth highest paid player in the league. He is also the main target of the Portland fans' ire on a team that hasn't won an NBA championship since 1977. Some fans, tired of his inconsistent play and propensity for garnering technical fouls (he holds the NBA single-season record of 41) have vowed to give up their season tickets if Wallace is not traded.

Wallace, known as much for his garish tattoos and fiery temper as for his basketball prowess, charges that the NBA exploits young black players for the enrichment of the predominantly (all except one) white ownership, "... they just want to draft who are dumb and dumber - straight out of high school. ... They look at black athletes like we're dumb ass . It's as if we're just going to shut up, sign for the money and do what they tell us."

Wallace has never been a choirboy. He's been arrested for possession of marijuana, has been ticketed for driving with a suspended license and has been fined thousands of dollars by both the Blazers and the league for various violations during his career.

Blazers' coach Maurice Cheeks has encouraged Wallace to take a leadership role on the team, but apparently Wallace doesn't share Cheeks' idea of leadership and seems to resent the idea of being a role model.

On one hand, Wallace claims that he doesn't play for the money, but rather because he wants to win games and win a league championship. But on the other hand, he says he will play for "whoever cuts the checks."

The attitude that Rasheed Wallace exhibits would not be unusual for a 21 or 22 year old, in his second or third year in the league, but Wallace should be well past the youthful irrational stage by now. He is married with children and one would think he might have grown up by now.

Approximately 80\% of the players in the NBA are black. The average salary for an NBA player is $4.9 million per season. These players are being paid for playing basketball.

Yes, the exploitation is quite evident.

The problem with professional basketball isn't with the players (or owners) who are earning millions. The problem is with those that forego their education and bet their futures on becoming professional ball players only to come up short with few, if any, alternatives.

Many young men with such prospects are struggling to finish school or are working long hours to support a family. Others are putting their lives on the line in Iraq or elsewhere around the world. Some fall by the wayside and end up living a life of crime, end up in prison or dead.

Fortunately for Wallace, he doesn't fall into any of these categories, at least not yet.

As is the case with many that have much, Wallace doesn't recognize or appreciate his unbelievably good fortune, a fortune that all but a very few will ever realize. Admittedly fame is often not it is all cracked up to be, but to complain that un- or under-educated young men, many of whom with otherwise few options in life are being exploited when making millions to play a game is too ludicrous for words.

Wallace is simply arrogant, self-centered and pompous and will one day find that his playing days are over and the man who "cuts the checks" is no longer cutting them in his name. He will then have plenty of time to reflect on how much better he could have been, not only on the court for his team, but off the court for his family and community. Maybe he'll also reflect on just how "exploited" he really was. Maybe, but considering that it is apparent that Wallace isn't the most inflated ball in the rack, I somehow doubt it.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Donaghy ESPN interview

Masbee -- Rookie of the Year

RR7 Well-Known Member

jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

ABM Happily Married In Music City, USA!

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Donaghy ESPN interview

Moderators

Masbee -- Rookie of the Year

RR7 Well-Known Member

jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

ABM Happily Married In Music City, USA!

Share This Page

Useful Searches