The name Tim Donaghy conjures many memories and opinions, few if any of them positive, especially in certain NBA cities, particularly Dallas.
Not that Donaghy, who officiated NBA games from 1994 to 2007, ever wronged the Mavericks when during the 2006-07 season he admittedly disclosed classified information to gamblers before two games and in other games made calls that affected the point spread.
At least that we know of.
The fact that Donaghy somewhat is back in the spotlight, this time with the nearing Nov. 1 release of Inside Game, a movie chronicling that mid-2000s betting scandal, likely will have the effect among Mavericks fans of an old scab being ripped off.
As Dallasites well know, it is Donaghy who was the first to publicly assert what many Mavericks fans and probably owner Mark Cuban suspected about Dallas’ 2006 NBA finals loss to Miami: That Dwyane Wade’s personal parade to the free-throw line (73 attempts!) during the Heat’s four straight victories to wipe out a 2-0 series deficit were not entirely on the up-and-up.
“Oh, and I’ll say it again,” Donaghy, 52, told The News by telephone a few days ago while promoting Inside Game. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Mavericks should have a ring from 2006.”
More on that in the full Q&A with Donaghy below. First, a synopsis of the movie:
Set in Philadelphia, it’s the story of Donaghy and his childhood friends, Tommy Martino and Baba Battista, and the plan they hatched to bet on NBA games and in the process make millions of dollars.
Donaghy, who wrote a 2009-published book, Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA, while serving his 15-month federal prison sentence, told The News that he didn’t come “on board” with publicizing Inside Game until about six months ago, after the movie was completed, when Martino and his wealthy cousin, Paul Martino, came to his home and showed him the movie.
I have to say I watched the trailers and I’m hooked. How much of the movie is based on 100% reality and how much is Hollywood poetic license?
Donaghy: I think there’s definitely some Hollywood to it. I’d say it’s about 90-10. I think the ending wasn’t really what had taken place. We were kind of separated and the movie has us all together. But for the most part it shows what we did and how we did it and the damage it caused to a lot of our families and problems it caused for each and every one of us.
How did you feel when you saw the final product? Did it bring back bad memories, or did you step back and feel some pride that you have emerged from that dark time?
Donaghy: The way you describe the question I guess I could look at it that way, but to be honest with you it was a lot of bad emotions that came back, a lot of embarrassment. And a lot of reliving it. To say that I’m still embarrassed is I think a major understatement. It’s a situation where I’ve learned a lot. I’ve been humbled. It’s made me a better person and a better parent, so I think I’ve somewhat looked at the positives as time has passed.
I noticed in the trailer, the movie is portrayed as the “untold true story.” Does that mean there are revelations that haven’t come out before?
Donaghy: I think it just goes into the extent of what we did. I don’t know that it’s untold. It’s Tommy’s version of what took place. He sat with the screenwriters and producers. I didn’t. I didn’t get on board until recently because I didn’t want to relive it. But Paulie and Tommy Martino are two great people, are great friends of mine. What kind of got me hooked is Tommy came up with a great idea. He knows that we both did a lot of work at a school called Elwyn (Davidson, in Pennsylvania) which is for mentally and physically challenged boys. They’re going to donate proceeds from Tommy’s book and the movie to the school.
That got to me a little bit. I figured that if something good could come of it like that, I would help with the marketing and that’s what I’m doing.
Do you have a sense of what the public reaction will be?
Donaghy: We showed it last week at Lehigh University to about 500 people and I can tell you that they loved it. It was a good feeling for me because people came up to Tommy and I afterward and said they admired the fact that we put our story out there and how it can be a lesson to everyone about making good choices. Because it really affected our families tremendously.
With that being said I think there’s a great message in the movie. I think that aspect of it is going to be a home run. I do have to say they did a great job of it.
I’m in Dallas, so I’m curious whether the Mavericks are mentioned anywhere in the movie.
FILE – Mavericks coach Avery Johnson displays his displeasure with referee Tim Donaghy (21), saying that the Rockets should have been called for fouling Dirk Nowitzki, during the first quarter of a game on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006, in Houston. (AP Photo/Tim Johnson)(TIM JOHNSON / AP)Donaghy: I think it’s just a general NBA commentary. There’s really not any specific team that is mentioned more than another.
I’m sure you know that this movie coming out, while not directly or indirectly mentioning the Mavericks, will bring back, I think for fans around here, memories about the 2006 finals because you are on record a few years ago as saying the Mavs got screwed out of that championship.
Donaghy: Oh, and I’ll say it again: There’s no doubt in my mind that the Mavericks should have a ring from 2006. And the Sacramento Kings should have a ring from 2002. And if it wasn’t because of the officiating and the officials on the floor for certain games and the supervisor of officials back in 2006, I think they would have a ring and they should have a ring.
When you said some of these things a few years ago, I wondered if you heard from Mark Cuban?
Donaghy: Early on I had emails exchanged with him. I think once the story got to the point where it has now, I haven’t had recent communication with him. I ran into him at a New York Knicks-Dallas Mavericks game one time at Madison Square Garden. He came up and shook my hand and gave me a big hug.
But recently, I haven’t heard from him. He’s a rock star now.
What was his reaction to your commentary on NBA officiating? I doubt he was surprised, but was he appreciative? Did he thank you?
Donaghy: Here’s the deal with Mark. When he came into the league all he wanted was the rules to be officiated in the games as they are written in the rule book. He wanted to take the subjectivity out of it. He wanted to take the way that officials officiate the names on the front and the back of the jerseys out of it. He wanted to build his team based on how those rules are written in the rule book, the best way he could, knowing what the rules were going to be.
And it never took place. He continued to get more frustrated with the officiating — and rightfully so because you don’t know how to build a team if you don’t know how the game is going to be called.
That was his gripe. He’s since forced the NBA to make a lot of changes. It’s still not a hundred percent what it should be.
FILE – Chris Webber hangs his head after a second-quarter call, as Tim Donaghy (left) and Doug Christie surround him, during Game 3 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs against the Mavericks on Saturday, April 24, 2004, at American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Jose Luis Villegas/Sacramento Bee photograph)(JosŽ Luis Villegas)What did he say to you?
Donaghy: He said he read my book, Personal Fouls, and thought it was great, and that he hoped my family was well and that I was able to recover from it.
You mentioned today’s officiating. Where have you seen improvement, and where does improvement need to be made?
Donaghy: I think where they’ve made some improvement is they’ve gotten rid of a lot of the older guys who can’t get into the physical position quick enough, running up and down the court. They’ve kind of moved them out and they’ve got a lot of younger guys and they are officiating based on what’s in the rule book because that’s how they’re going to advance.
They took some of those relationships that were negative or positive out of the league by getting rid of some of those older referees. So I think as they hire some more referees, the more the better. I think they should have 70, 75 referees to where they’re not seeing the same team more than once a month. It takes some of the negative aspects out of it when you have a problem and you don’t see that team for a while, it kind of gets buried.
And again, you’ve got to take refereeing the names on the front and back of the jerseys out of the game and you’ve got to referee the calls and violations as they take place on the court. When that starts to happen the fans are going to think that it’s a true athletic competition — and the kind-of fake wrestling aspect of it is taken out of it.
When you continue to have certain players pick the ball up near halfcourt and take five steps and dunk it and there’s no traveling violation called, that continues to have people think that it’s not on the up-and-up.
CLARIFICATION, 2:30 p.m., Oct. 24, 2019: A question and answer that discussed the NBA’s approval of the Inside Game movie has been removed from this story. The league has not signed off on the movie.
