Integrity and Entertainment

It’s a Monday night and Staples Center is alive. The crowd is going nuts. The athletes are giving it all. The lights illuminate the spectacle. Time is winding down. Anticipation is building…who will come out on top? Some might say their fate is inevitable. I would have to agree. But who has decided it?

Where can we draw a line between entertainment/business and integrity? Sports are supposed to be played for the spirit of competition and honor. However, it is important to remember that every major sports league is a business, not a charity. Is it THAT much of a stretch to believe that certain elements of this supposedly fair competition are manipulated? Don’t be scared off by these claims. I am not trying to suggest that a group of men in black suits sit in a dark, windowless room and script every sporting event. What I am saying, however, is that sometimes actions may be taken that favor profits over integrity.

If you follow the NBA, then you know that the league has been marred by scandal involving disgraced ref Tim Donaghy. Donaghy was found by a FBI investigation to be gambling on, and providing gambling tips to people on games he was and was not involved in. Supposedly he did this by knowing the “tendencies” of certain refs. Donaghy provides specific examples of this in his book, Personal Foul.

Because of the matchup that night, I had some notion of who might win the game, but that's not why I was confident enough to pull the trigger and pick the other team. The real reason I picked the losing team was that I was just about certain they would cover the spread, no matter how badly they played. That is where Dick Bavetta comes into the picture. From my earliest involvement with Bavetta, I learned that he likes to keep games close, and that when a team gets down by double-digit points, he helps the players save face. He accomplishes this act of mercy by quietly, and frequently, blowing the whistle on the team that's having the better night. Team fouls suddenly become one-sided between the contestants, and the score begins to tighten up. That's the way Dick Bavetta referees a game — and everyone in the league knew it.

Here is the first question that should be buzzing in your mind. Why did it take a FBI investigation to figure out what was going on? The NBA claims that they review tapes of all games and that their refs have no biases. Supposedly they take every measure possible to ensure the integrity of the games. Are you telling me that through all of their analysis of the way referees perform, they never noticed that something was off? Look at this from the NBA’s perspective. If the games are kept closer then people will stay around longer. They are more likely to buy more concessions and to get emotionally involved in the game. Thus, they are more likely to come back for another game. Similarly, viewers on television will stop watching if a game becomes a blowout. Less people watching means lower ratings and a lower amount to charge for commercial time. If Donaghy is telling the truth, then the NBA has clearly compromised integrity for profits.

Now for the second question that should have you extremely confused. Dick Bavetta is a NBA referee. He is 70 years old. This fact should alarm you. Does David Stern honestly expect us to believe that Dick Bavetta, at the ripe age of 70 years old, has better reflexes, stamina, and even vision to officiate a professional level basketball game than literally ANYONE else? Is it going too far for me to believe that there are some other reasons that Bavetta hasn’t been forced to retire? I understand that experience is important. But at a certain point it just becomes ridiculous.

The biggest problem with this scandal was that NBA Commissioner David Stern swept all notions of this being anything other than a rogue ref under the rug. He has made no effort to try to reform the referee program in the NBA, which has had its history of conspiracy. Derek Hanson, ESPN radio personality and blogger, notes:

So are we really shocked about the accusations of former NBA Ref Tim Donaghy, that some playoff games in the past, were, well for the lack of a better term “fixed?”  How many time have we said that on my shows over the past 11 years that the officiating in the NBA stinks, and almost looks like the games are rigged.  It is really hard to know who to believe here, is Donaghy just bitter and trying to lessen is sentence?  Or is what we have seen with our own eyes true, the calls aren’t just going to favor the superstars, but can determine the outcome of games.

The NBA has a history of conspiracy rumors, and yet David Stern seems to be taking no measures to give fans any reason to not doubt him.

How different is the NBA and even other professional sports leagues from the WWE? The WWE is actually scripted, but if the outcome is known already isn’t it all the same? An outline is almost like a script. Perhaps the WWE is just a more straightforward version of the other sports leagues. They make it known that their only goal is to entertain. Maybe it’s time for the NBA to be more up-front about their intentions.