Tim Donahgy is betting again, this time that Eastern District of New York Judge Carol Amon will believe him.  The disgraced former NBA referee has opened a Pandora’s box by alleging that one of the major sports leagues is internally corrupt.  According to the New York Times:

According to Donaghy, N.B.A. executives directed referees “to manipulate games” in order to “boost ticket sales and television ratings,” and he cited several examples. Although the team names were withheld, Donaghy pointed to Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals as one such instance.

According to Lauro’s letter: “Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew Referees A and F to be ‘company men,’ always acting in the interest of the N.B.A., and that night, it was in the N.B.A.’s interest to add another game to the series.” The game was refereed by three tenured veterans, Dick Bavetta, Ted Bernhardt and Bob Delaney.

This is a sports fan’s worst nightmare.  It’s bad enough when your favorite team loses.  It’s worse when they lose because of a bad call.  But if it’s true, and the call wasn’t bad, but deliberate, then there’s no hope left.

Baseball has steroids.  Basketball is corrupt.  And the New York Giants won the Superbowl.

At least football is still an honorable sport.