"Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA" by Tim Donaghy

From the former referee himself, Donaghy tells all about his personal life to his career in the NBA. He also talks about his eerie run-in with a "good fella" and the allegations he underwent and got away with while working the games.

After a great read from Tuohy's The Fix Is In, I went and picked up Tim Donaghy's book wondering what he had to say—an ex-referee known for the biggest blunder in NBA history.

Donaghy has led a modest life, and fulfilled his dream becoming a referee. However, it was his need for more thrills and excitement that got him. Not just that, one of his old high school classmates, especially James "Ba Ba" Battista, apparently had ties with the Gambino family (!) extorting Donaghy having found out that he works as a referee in a pro sports league.

Along the way, you get a courtside seat through the eyes of Donaghy, him making the calls, having been stalked by Rasheed Wallace at one point, the referee's agenda for tonight's game and which team is required to have some "breathing room," how referees get rewarded and get the chance to officiate playoff games and the cheery spirit from LeBron's mother. You also get an eerie sight when he constantly lies to his wife time and time again, for the sake of placing bets and receiving his wins, and the tons of golf games he played with his buddies. You can feel the tremor the second his [old high school] pal Martino called him and said it's the FBI knocking on their door. You also get a feel about what life is like behind bars—almost similar to the environment portrayed in the film The Shawshank Redemption.

As things took a nose-dive, I really felt bad for Donaghy. That same down hill dive reminded me of what happened to late great game show host Ray Combs, to which his struggles led him to commit suicide. Tim seems like a cool guy. My favorite part was when one of his daughters cuddled up to him asking if he bet on games. When Donaghy answered, his daughter said it's okay and that she still loves him. That was the sweetest part of the book, right up there with his daughters visiting him in jail.

On this book, Donaghy admits he DID NOT fix games for betting purposes. Ba Ba had something to say about that featured on the book, Gaming The Game.

Would it be fair to say that what I learned was not only how the system runs in the NBA direct from a referee who worked there and how they choose who is supposed to win, why star players shouldn't be on the bench and the life of a referee, but learned never to stay in touch with folks from the past? Personally, I struggled getting along with folks from grammar/high school (books are now my only friends), and if being under extortion because one was always considered 'nice,' then I certainly learned why from this book. Though we all want some thrills and excitement in our lives, it's best to look before you leap and why.

I read somewhere that this book was written in retaliation to David Stern and the NBA because he thought he could still work in the league since his betting scandals had nothing to do with his job, having denied the allegations that he fixed games. I also remember, in an interview, Donaghy stated that this book was written to pay for restitution, but also to provide basketball fans as to the goings-on in the NBA—unveiling what goes on behind the closed doors. In fact, to this day, one of his good friends, Scott Foster, is still employed in the NBA. You think Foster is following suit?

If you're a huge basketball fan like I am was, don't miss this. You'll not only learn biographically about Donaghy and why he admits he's guilty, but he also explains 'how the game is really played' in the NBA; as a bonus, Donaghy explains why he thinks Mark Cuban—owner of the Dallas Mavericks—would make a great commissioner for the league. You will never watch and take NBA games at face value after you read this. (Knowing the truth is going to hurt, but the fact that it sets one free is what you, and everyone else, wants right?)


"...It was the NBA that hired Donaghy despite numerous background checks. It was the NBA that let Donaghy officiate their highly sought after playoff games, even though they continually monitored his on- and off-the-court actions. It was the NBA that employed Donaghy for 13 years - and potentially more had the FBI not arrested him. It is the NBA that has an entire security division employed to monitor players, team officials, and referees in an attempt to stem any such criminal behavior. Yet the NBA did not catch Donaghy. In fact, his arrest came as a shock to the league. So who is lacking more credibility? Donaghy, or the league that employed - and would've continued to employ - him?

Before you answer that question, consider what Donaghy ultimately told the feds: That the NBA routinely instructed its referees to alter the outcomes of its games. Or, to put it more simply, the NBA is fixed."

—Brian Tuohy, author of The Fix Is In (Quoted from his article Tim Donaghy v. the NBA)

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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