Tim Donaghy may not have been the only NBA referee betting and potentially fixing the outcome of games. News has surfaced that Donaghy is prepared to implicate 20 refs in a growing NBA gambling crisis.
The report on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York said Donaghy will provide prosecutors as many as 20 names of other NBA officials and will detail their involvement in some form of gambling, believed to include betting in casinos.
The offenses may not include criminal activity, according to the report, but could violate NBA policy and lead to firings that would decimate the officiating staff. Twenty referees would make up about a third of the league’s roster.
Meanwhile, the referees union maintained that Donaghy is the only NBA referee known to have engaged in gambling activities.
On August 15, Donaghy appeared in a Brooklyn federal court and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce.