Donaghy’s New Allegations Have A Very Real Past

By: D.K. Wilson

“Anybody who tells you that Michael Jordan was suspended for a year because of gambling is lying. That’s not what happened.”

That was one of ESPN’s Mike Greenberg’s statements in response to Tim Donaghy’s lawyer’s charge that other referees, coaches, and players were involved in gambling in the NBA:

According to documents filed by the lawyer, John Lauro, Donaghy provided law enforcement officials with information about N.B.A. matters outside of the government’s original investigation. That included information about the gambling activities of other referees and an instance in which confidential information was suspected of being passed from a referee to a coach.

Lauro filed a letter and several attachments as part of a sentencing memorandum, which is to be considered by United States District Judge Carol B. Amon. Donaghy, who pleaded guilty last August to two felony charges, is to be sentenced July 14.

This morning Greenberg also said he didn’t know if these are new charges by Donaghy or “the ones” we heard before about referees gambling in Vegas.” Interestingly, Donaghy did make exactly the same assertions when this whole case first broke. But within days the NBA shut off all mentions of these allegations; with the blessing of some compliant members of the sporting press, and perhaps entire Big Box sports media outlets, of course.

However, perhaps the most important charge levied at the NBA by John Lauro is this:

In a footnote to the document, Lauro suggested that the N.B.A. might have “pressured” the United States attorney’s office “into shutting down this prosecution to avoid the disclosure of information unrelated to Tim’s conduct.”

In his letter, Lauro wrote that Donaghy “provided substantial assistance” to the government and asked the judge to impose only probation.

“We believe that Tim’s information will lead to future reforms that will change the way in which the N.B.A. conducts itself,” Lauro wrote.

The NBA denied all the allegations, especially that of pressuring the U.S. attorney’s office:

“The letter filed today on Mr. Donaghy’s behalf contains an assortment of lies, unfounded allegations and facts that have been previously acknowledged, such as the fact that certain N.B.A. referees engaged in casino gambling in violation of N.B.A. rules,” Joel Litvin, the N.B.A. president for league and basketball operations, said in a statement. “The letter is the desperate act of a convicted felon who is hoping to avoid prison time, and the only thing it proves is that Mr. Donaghy is no more trustworthy today than he was when he was breaking the law by betting on N.B.A. games.”

This statement by Litvin is tantamount to the, “Your Honor the witness is a prostitute with an arrest record therefore the alleged eyewitness testimony should be disregarded,” excuse used ad nausea in court rooms and by lawyers and pundits in the press.

Litvin’s words with regards to Donaghy’s allegations are specious. And because he would stoop to such a pronouncement, the veracity of his rebuttal - and the NBA - should be challenged.

Members of the mainstream press like Greenberg will swear that nothing like illegal betting scandals has ever been connected with the NBA and that the NBA has certainly never put pressure on law enforcement officials. Here’s more:

Mike Golic: Do we think that the NBA [has the power] to pressure the district attorney?

Greenberg: Could you imagine if that came to light? What you are accusing them of is a crime. Bear in mind you are making a very serious accusation. Do I think the NBA would go actively covering it up? No, I don’t think so.

The accusations are made by someone trying to save his own hide and are frankly not very credible.”

These assertions by Greenberg and Golic are patently false.

Jack Molinas was an All-America forward from Columbia who was, in the 1953 NBA draft, the number one pick of the Fort Wayne Pistons. Molinas quickly became an All-Star. However, within a few years Molinas also found himself ensnared in an FBI wiretap. Molinas was heard talking to bookmakers about betting up to $500 on at least 10 NBA games.

Molinas was banned from the league.

In 1987 the league was rocked by a drug - cocaine - scandal that centered on Walter Davis of the Phoenix Suns. According to the book, Money Players, by Armen Keteyian, Harvey Araton, and Martin F. Dardis, Commissioner David Stern said of the Davis incident:

Our expression to the district attorney’s office was if there’s independent things, go for it. But if it’s because of the publicity surrounding it [Davis’ drug use], it would not be a good thing because we’re trying very hard in a program that has been praised by the DEA, FBI, and the presidential drug counselor as at least a start, an attempt to do something right.”

The right thing to do, in the opinion of Phoenix police chief, Ruben Ortega… Tom Collins was to proceed with the investigation, starting with Davis’ being subpoenaed before a grand jury for information on his suppliers. Ortega and Collins paid a visit to [Suns president] Colangelo at the Suns old offices…

“Tome and Ruben basically laid it out, advised him we were conducting this investigation,” [Phoenix attorney James] Keppel said. “Jerry was very disturbed, offended, that we would start an investigation without coming to him. Ruben mentioned to him, ‘Here I am, chief of police, investigating criminal activity, and are you saying you’d rather have me come to you and have you handle it in-house?’

“And Jerry’s response was, ‘Yes, I would have preferred that (pgs. 65-66).’”

Three days before drug indictments were handed down two Phoenix men were arrested on charges of illegal gambling in relation to the drug charges that also included Davis. Soon the net widened and statements were given that revealed possible point-shaving related to several Suns players, including center Paul Mokeski and then-Milwaukee forward, Jack Sikma. The game targeted was a Feb. 21, 1987 Phoenix-Milwaukee game in Phoenix. Testimony was given charging that a local Phoenix bartender gave Mokeski cocaine and the Suns center and Sikma then met and disappeared upstairs into a “VIP” section of the bar. The “over-under” or point total of the game was said to be fixed. The game’s final score was 115-107 Phoenix. And the total points in Vegas were 226; the game came in four points “under (Money Players, pgs. 67-68).”

Nine years after the case closed Keppel indicated to the book’s authors that the investigators of the case had received information that point-shaving had taken place. As Keppel stated (pgs. 68-69):

Whether it was grand jury leaks all this stuff gets put in the media. Some of the allegations of the drug use could be substantiated. This other stuff about the gambling with Mokeski and Sikma, as I recall, could not be substantiated to the extent that any criminal prosecution could be brought. We never really contemplated that. Still, it was out there in the media and we’re getting blamed for bringing all this stuff up and ruining people’s reputations. That was the point where this case started coming undone.

The implication is that the NBA submarined the district attorney’s office’s investigative capabilities by orchestrating media leaks and then blaming the D.A.’s office.

To that point, no players were ever convicted. And despite solid evidence against him - and others - Walter Davis never testified in the case, claiming it would irreparably harm his NBA career.

And the NBA skated away from the scandal unharmed.

Colangelo painted the entire scandal as a “witch hunt: rumors, innuendo, absolutely nothing.”

So, there is a foundation for rumors surrounding the death of Michael Jordan’s father. There is a foundation for the rumors that Michael Jordan’s sudden disappearance from the NBA was due to a secret agreement between Jordan and David Stern. There is a foundation for the rumors that, upon his return to the league, Jordan’s inexplicably shaky late-game play against Orlando in the playoffs was the final humiliating pay back to Stern for his protecting the global marketing icon. And that foundation has, for the most part, been whitewashed by the sports press.

But the information does exist. It is a fact that there have been drug investigations that turned into point-shaving scandals and there have been players betting on games - and perhaps more.

Because these recent Donaghy allegations are actually the same allegations he made early on after he was found to have gambled on games but were swept under the sports media rug, they deserve our full attention now.

Yet if they are not fully investigated we will always be left to wonder exactly what went on behind the scenes and most significantly, whether David Stern’s had a hand in quieting what might well have been a superstorm.

(The above information presented about Jack Molinas can also be found in Money Players.)

Tags: David Stern, gambling, Jack Molinas, Jerry Colangelo, Joel Litvin, Michael Jordan, Money Players, NBA, Tim Donaghy, Walter Davis

D.K. Wilson is a freelance sports writer. He is better known on the internet as "DWil," and writes for Sports On My Mind.

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2 Comments

1. Mike Greenberg is either living in his own fantasy world or is poorly informed about how far the NBA would go to protect its valuable commodity. When Jack Molinas was suspended from the NBA in 1954 for gambling on games, Maurice Podoloff was used him as a scapegoat for all the NBA’s sins. David Stern is doing the same thing with Tim Donaghy.

   In Molinas’ time the NBA was still a young commodity. Commissioner Maurice Podoloff, and the team owners, were eager to put all the blame on Jack Molinas — to make sure that their commodity remained pure. Podoloff knew that a gambling scandal could wipe out the young league.

   Yes, it’s all happened before – with one big difference. This time there’s far more money at stake. Depending on how fans look at it - Stern knows that an NBA betting scandal could wipe out advertiser support, which would lead to canceled television contracts.

   In my January 2008 novel, “Broken Trust – The Murder of Basketball Star Jack Molinas,” I tried to address some of these issues. When my publisher asked me what I thought Jack Molinas would think of the character I created, I answered: “I think he would like ‘my Jack’ – and thank me for believing in him, and not blaming him for all the ills in society.”
   If David Stern really wants to address the issue, he would stop acting like a lawyer (even though he is one!) and be honest with the public. And he would use all his influence to get the point spreads out of the newspapers.

   Newspaper sportswriters and TV sports commentators are also doing the same thing now as they did back in 1954. They are willing to go along with Stern and this charade to protect their jobs instead of taking a stand and addressing the issue of point spreads. What other purpose do point spreads serve, other than to facilitate sports gambling – and serve as a source of newspaper sales revenue?

   As far as I’m concerned the current stance of Stern and the NBA, and the silence of sportswriters and television commentators, is nothing more than a “Broken Trust” between the fans, the players, and the sport they both love.

   Comment by Jerry Marcus on May 23, 2008

2. Interesting subject matter. I knew Jack Molinas. Played against Jack Molinas. Was with him three months before he was assassinated in LA-1975. My roommate in 1951 was Alex Groza, who was banned along with teammate Ralph Beard…both deceased, on the point shaving scandals that ruined our team. Our team was in Chicago when the feds stepped in…Indpls Olympians. Ask about Cardinal Spelmann, of NY who told DAs Hogan & Oconnor, not to touch the guys from the area Catholic Schools…now, who would these be? There is always more to the stories. How about Molinas/Connie Hawkins? Connie sued the NBA 1965…NBA caved.

   Comment by bill tosheff on May 23, 2008

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