NBA Ref bet on games
by Geep on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 10:07am
The FBI is reportedly investigating an NBA referee who was allegedly betting on basketball games, including games he worked in the past two seasons.
This doesn’t really surprise me, the only surprise being that it doesn’t happen more often. Having an intimate knowledge of the league and the greed that lives inside us all, I can understand this behavior.
The New York Post first reported Friday that the year-long investigation is focusing on allegations that the referee bet on games and was making calls that affected the point spread on games. The newspaper reported that according to sources, an arrest of the referee was imminent and that NBA Commissioner David Stern is aware of the investigation.
According to the Post, the referee’s name was withheld.
The the head of the referees union said it was aware of the probe, Bloomberg News reported.
“These accusations, if true, are extremely serious and we have been in discussions with the NBA regarding this matter,” Lamell McMorris, head of the NBA Referees Association, told Bloomberg News. “In light of the fact that this is an ongoing federal criminal investigation, we have nothing further to say at this time.”
Bloomberg reported that an NBA spokesman and league executive Stu Jackson, who oversees referees, phone messages seeking comment Friday morning. The Post reported that the FBI declined comment on the investigation.
Of course he would not have bet on the games Mario Soto pitched.