Allegedly, an NBA referee has been betting on games over the past two seasons, including games he refereed, and might have made calls that affected the point spread in games on which he wagered. (Full story here.) The referee, who is referred to as a “veteran” and “he” in the article, also has alleged ties to organized crime.
NBA referee statistics are here. I don’t really know how to interpret this, but apparently the Jess Kersey numbers are interesting. He has a bit of a flair for the dramatic, not that ejecting the Spurs’ mascot from a game means he’s a dirty ref. He also was indicted on tax evasion charges in 1997 and pled guilty several days into his trial.
I’m curious to learn more about this, especially who the ref is and, hopefully, what games were affected. It’s not surprising news — I’ve had serious doubts about the quality of NBA officiating this past year, especially after that Nuggets playoff game I attended in April.
One bad ref doesn’t mean the NBA is dead, but if the allegations are true, it’s another symptom of serious illness. I hope David Stern makes a real effort to fix this, instead of giving us his usual bullshit.
ETA: In other NBA news, it looks like Joey Crawford was reinstated.
July 20, 2007 at 10:44 am
I am shocked.
The NBA is just like Golf, NFL, MLB, college football and the Kentucky Derby.
Next the FBI may learn that the athletes are all doped out like the ponies are.
Shocking. Sacto King NBA star Ron Artest was a dog owner before animal control took away his starving pets.
What next, dog fights?