Another Ref Implicated in Donaghy Scandal?

[Trilogy]

not at all surprised.

I still don't believe in any league wide conspiracy but I'm also sure that Donaghy wasn't some lone rogue wolf.

At what point does Stern's Midas touch become rotten enough to NBA owners that they cut him off. The Donaghy "scandal" had little traction with the public, no one really gave a damn how the NBA haphazardly justified the Vancouver Grizzlies exit to Memphis and only a few more seem to care that the NBA used the same M.O. with a more historical franchise like the Seattle Supersonics.

Stern is the new teflon don. Scandals hit, incompetence in the league, lower quality basketball all during his watch. He just smiles, laughs / shrugs things off & the public (& thereby media) eats it up.

Stern had some all-time greats during his tenure and an admittedly well orchestrated advertising campaign to focus more on the individual stars then the team which helped the NBA flourish but every dog has his day in the sun & then needs to go old yeller.

I'm a hypocrite though, and I guess people like me are the reason why Stern still goes strong. Some people dismiss these charges & continue to watch NBA, people like me hate it but are so attached to the NBA that we stick by it...I just don't know at what point I would say "that's it" but so far the public like me still hasn't reached that breaking point............tough to be a fan though.

Same here.

I'm just too into the NBA and the Raptors to just let it all go.

I just chuckled when I read this though, because it seemed way too simple that Donaghy was the only referee. I agree that it isn't a league wide thing, but I suspected there could be other cases.

I've always just got a bad vibe from Stern when I see him. He seems crooked, and it might all be coming to light.

I think he needs to go, even if this isn't true. For the betterment of the game, he needs to let someone come in with a clean slate to restore some faith. People just don't trust him.

[Wizards2Lottery]

Local media in DC reports that its Scott Foster.

[Manocad]

Local media in DC reports that its Scott Foster.

News reported tonight that it is indeed Scott Foster, that Donaghy made 134 calls to him while making no more than 13 to anyone else with any involvement with the NBA, and that the vast majority of the calls were less than 2 minutes in length and were right before or after an NBA game.

Pretty damning, IMO.

[magicfan4life05]

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/ ... oster.html

The NBA said in a statement last night that the disclosure of Donaghy's phone calls is old news to prosecutors. "The government had complete access to Tim Donaghy's phone records and thoroughly investigated this matter, including conducting an interview of referee Scott Foster,'' the statement said. "The government has said that they have found no evidence of criminal conduct aside from that of Mr. Donaghy. Once again, the only criminal conduct is that of Mr. Donaghy.''

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3487206

FOXNews.com reached Foster at the same cell phone number found in Donaghy’s phone records and asked him if he was being investigated by the NBA, the government or anyone else. “Not that I know of,” he said.

LOL, so he's being "interviewed" and "thoroughly investigated" without his knowledge....yeahhh.....

[ropjhk]

Sadly enough, this story doesn't seem to be getting any press. It should be front page stuff, but is only getting a passing glance from most of the major news outlets. Only 12 posts on realgm.

The corruption here is blatant, and given how the media barely makes any effort to cover the ongoing stories anymore, probably extends all the way to the top of the league.

Agreed. This is a huge revelation in this whole scandal. This makes a very very strong implication that more than 1 ref was involved, and that there may be more. This should be front page on all the sports websites.

Even if the two guys were just close friends, you don't call your friend 4-5 times a day just to catch up on things. That many phone calls are only made if you're discussing business, and Donaghy didn't come close to making those number of phone calls with the other refs.

The NBA needs to investigate Foster. If they don't it will be further proof of how they are just trying to sweep all this under the rug. We as fans who truly care about the game cannot let this issue fade into oblivion before some major changes happen to improve the quality of the officiating and to restore integrity into the game.

[hoops4life]

Stern had some all-time greats during his tenure and an admittedly well orchestrated advertising campaign to focus more on the individual stars then the team which helped the NBA flourish but every dog has his day in the sun & then needs to go old yeller.

I agree with most of what is said but isn't the above^ the opposite reason the opposite of what critics say makes the NFL better than the NBA, because it is more about the team and not the star.

[draft]

I think there's no question that there are other referees involved. Referees travel together and have their own locker room for the game. They're together for a long time. Somebody must have seen him making all these phone calls. Especially so close to game time.

[TonyMontana]

Maybe Foster and Donaghy were lovers and they missed each other and they wanted to wish each other good luck before and after every game...............LOLLLLL

[Mr Awesome]

I think right from the begining it was pretty obvious there was more then one ref involved. Ill bet Stern knew it too.

[Birth of the Cool]

I agree with most of what is said but isn't the above^ the opposite reason the opposite of what critics say makes the NFL better than the NBA, because it is more about the team and not the star.

Oh I was just reflecting on how the NBA's marketing/advertising focus on the individual Superstar seemed to be a success in increasing the NBA's popularity amongst the general public. This branding of individuals worked wonders for the NBA during the MJ era.

I'll agree that in the long run this sort of marketing of your product on individual's over the actual game and teams will be detrimental as eventually the marketing machine will have to (over) hype individuals that may not be worthy of such praise (it's easy to go the star marketing route when you have Magic / Bird and Michael Jordan as the faces of the league but that type of star won't always be available, and at that point the league must push lesser stars down the public's throat).

and on an NFL note, their Refs are at a totally more professional level then the clowns running around in the NBA.

It's also good to see Stern has already dismissed these reports. Pretty much expected. I remember when the ACC (Toronto Raptors) first opened up and Stern was there and when introduced he was boo'd lustily (yeah Toronto loves to boo...)....I wish every arena does that whenever Stern shows his face.

[vwc228]

I'll agree that in the long run this sort of marketing of your product on individual's over the actual game and teams will be detrimental as eventually the marketing machine will have to (over) hype individuals that may not be worthy of such praise (it's easy to go the star marketing route when you have Magic / Bird and Michael Jordan as the faces of the league but that type of star won't always be available, and at that point the league must push lesser stars down the public's throat).

Totally agree.

I think the Jordan Phenomenon lulled Stern into a false sense of security. I think he believed that marketing the indvidiuals (as was done with Jordan) is a smart strategy. They didn't realize that Jordan was an exception (not basketball wise, but marketing wise). No player (be it Kobe, Lebron, whatever) has the kind of charisma and personalty that Jordan had which made him transcend basketball all together. Stern and the gang did not bet on that and figured that any "good" basketball player can be marketed the same way and with the same results.

If it wasn't for Jordan, Stern would have been gone a LONG time ago.

We'll see how Stern tries to spin this one though.

[Puertorique]

Isn't Dick Bavetta Donnie Broscoe? if so it gets more intresting.

[BROWN]

finally... i can see it, david stern getting out!

[Desmond24]

Just because Donaghy talked to Foster numerous times before and after games means absolutely nothing in terms of any guilt to Foster. Doesn't mean Foster had any knowledge or contributed knowling, willingly or otherwise to Donaghy's illegal actions. Amongst 60+ officails, some are bound to be friends. And while there is some guilt by association, perhaps Foster learns from this as to who he chooses to be friends with. Most, and more probable is the vast majority of 58 existing NBA officials, are honest and hard working and despise what Donaghy did and the fall out that is coming from it. I think the NBA should be more transparent in officials' calls. The officials would be willing to explain. Most times, the players, coaches and certainly the broadcasters who convey to the viewing public have no clue as to the rule the official is enforcing. Only the officials have the vast knowledge of rules, moreso than the coaches. As an official, I can attest to this fact, as silly as it may sound. The official can then own up to a mistake. And in the fast pace of basketball, mistakes are going to happen. The officials watch game tape and learn from those mistakes. I have a feeling they'd be willing to own up to them. It's the NBA that surrounds them with secrecy they don't subscribe to necessarily.

[garrick]

you have to admit that the timing of those calls are pretty shady. take a look at the call logs.