NBA Ref Gets 15 Months

Remember Tim Donaghy, the referee from the NBA who was involved in a gambling scandal? The whole incident threw the sporting sector into a frenzy as potential gambling incidents came into focus. A few months after that though, the news faded into the background.

As such, I was then a bit surprised when I saw Donaghy’s name on the news this morning. KTNV reports:

Former NBA referee, Tim Donaghy, will spend 15 months in prison for his involvement in a gambling scandal.

Donaghy took payoffs from professional gamblers for inside tips on games.

The league has denied Donaghy’s claim that corruption among referees runs deeper than one bad referee.

Two of his former high school classmates were sentenced last week to over a year in prison for their roles in the scheme.

You may be wondering why I am writing about this incident when it seems to be a negative thing for the world of gambling. The thing is, I just wanted to make a point – gambling is not inherently bad. The evil lies in how people manipulate and take advantage of certain situations and then bring gambling into it.

The former NBA referee, for example. He was privy to certain information that should have not been made known to those who bet on the sports. There was a line he shouldn’t have crossed and when he did, he had to suffer the ramifications of his actions.

Makes sense?