Here was David Stern appealing to his jury, about 75 reporters assembled in Majestic Ballroom on the fifth floor of the Westin in midtown Manhattan, and the millions watching at home. The lawyer was his most lawyerly: a sober man in a suit, in marked contrast to the prickly, pugnacious lecturer who deigned to address the media during All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas.
This David Stern was humble, earnest and grave. He was able to deliver his talking points, and field questions — many concerning disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's anger management issues — without giving in to his own famously combative instincts. David Stern does not like being questioned, much less second- and third-guessed. But in this, what amounted to his opening statement, he was altogether convincing.
He laid out his case quite clearly. He described all the layers of NBA security and screening. He said that Donaghy's dispute with a neighbor had caused the league to dispatch an investigator and resulted in the ref losing playoff privileges last season. He said the league checked out a tip that he had been betting in the Borgata casino in Atlantic City. "We checked out every casino in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, and all of our investigations came up negative," said Stern. "...We followed this to the end of the trail."
The NBA, he said, knew nothing of Donaghy's involvement with gambling and gamblers until June 20 when the league received a call from the FBI. Stern met with the feds the following day, and at their request did not fire the ref, who resigned on July 9.
In his four decades of NBA business — a career that began with Stern as a young lawyer working on the fallout from the 1961 gambling scandal — "this is the worst situation I have ever experienced."
Somehow, the league screwed up. That much is as clear as the fact that Tim Donaghy was still working while being investigated. But Stern, whose rehearsed arguments were delivered with more than a little aplomb, was able to give the screw-up some basis for comparison.
How do you feel? he was asked again and again. Are you surprised?
Veteran Stern watchers might have expected his condescending character to show right there. "No more surprised than the heads of the FBI or the CIA when rogue employees turn on their country," he said. "Or when judges turn out to be corrupt."
The guy's got a point.
It wasn't just the NBA that was fooled. The only true wise men in sports — the Vegas bookmakers — apparently missed Donaghy as well.
So basically, this all comes down to one question, posed a couple of different ways: Did Tim Donaghy act alone?
Was he the only NBA employee involved in what looks like a classic point-shaving scandal?
"I understand that it's an isolated case," said Stern, whose inner lawyer felt obligated to qualify, "let me make it clear: that's my current understanding."
That's what matters most here. If it's one corrupted official, the damage should be containable, especially with the PR skills and resources the NBA has at its disposal. If it's more than one guy, however, Stern may not be able to rectify the presumption against his league.
Speaking of a betting scandal that has recently plagued Italy's top tier soccer league, Stern says he wants fans to grant the NBA "the same benefit of the doubt." Understand, as the commissioner does, that people tend to believe what they want to believe. College basketball — especially as it's played in some of the more obscure conferences — is a lot more vulnerable than the pro game. But fans love it more than ever, and the gamblers can't get enough.
I'm very aware of the subject," he said, recalling the fixers of the 1960s, Jack Molinas and Aaron Wagman.
Fact: basketball is a betting sport. Fact: the past informs the present. Fact: the game survives, despite periodic forecasts of its demise.
Consider the case of Mendy Rudolph, long known as the game's greatest referee. He, too, was a big bettor. A man in Vegas once offered to forgive Rudoph's substantial gambling losses in return for shaving a few points. The ref apparently declined, saying that he loved the game too much.
So do the fans (let us agree for now to table the issue of the dismal NBA Finals). In September, Mendy Rudolph will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
So you see, in a candid moment, David Stern could tell you what he knows about jurors. Ultimately, even the toughest among them believe what they want.
This David Stern was humble, earnest and grave. He was able to deliver his talking points, and field questions — many concerning disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's anger management issues — without giving in to his own famously combative instincts. David Stern does not like being questioned, much less second- and third-guessed. But in this, what amounted to his opening statement, he was altogether convincing.
He laid out his case quite clearly. He described all the layers of NBA security and screening. He said that Donaghy's dispute with a neighbor had caused the league to dispatch an investigator and resulted in the ref losing playoff privileges last season. He said the league checked out a tip that he had been betting in the Borgata casino in Atlantic City. "We checked out every casino in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, and all of our investigations came up negative," said Stern. "...We followed this to the end of the trail."
The NBA, he said, knew nothing of Donaghy's involvement with gambling and gamblers until June 20 when the league received a call from the FBI. Stern met with the feds the following day, and at their request did not fire the ref, who resigned on July 9.
In his four decades of NBA business — a career that began with Stern as a young lawyer working on the fallout from the 1961 gambling scandal — "this is the worst situation I have ever experienced."
Somehow, the league screwed up. That much is as clear as the fact that Tim Donaghy was still working while being investigated. But Stern, whose rehearsed arguments were delivered with more than a little aplomb, was able to give the screw-up some basis for comparison.
How do you feel? he was asked again and again. Are you surprised?
Veteran Stern watchers might have expected his condescending character to show right there. "No more surprised than the heads of the FBI or the CIA when rogue employees turn on their country," he said. "Or when judges turn out to be corrupt."
The guy's got a point.
It wasn't just the NBA that was fooled. The only true wise men in sports — the Vegas bookmakers — apparently missed Donaghy as well.
So basically, this all comes down to one question, posed a couple of different ways: Did Tim Donaghy act alone?
Was he the only NBA employee involved in what looks like a classic point-shaving scandal?
"I understand that it's an isolated case," said Stern, whose inner lawyer felt obligated to qualify, "let me make it clear: that's my current understanding."
That's what matters most here. If it's one corrupted official, the damage should be containable, especially with the PR skills and resources the NBA has at its disposal. If it's more than one guy, however, Stern may not be able to rectify the presumption against his league.
Speaking of a betting scandal that has recently plagued Italy's top tier soccer league, Stern says he wants fans to grant the NBA "the same benefit of the doubt." Understand, as the commissioner does, that people tend to believe what they want to believe. College basketball — especially as it's played in some of the more obscure conferences — is a lot more vulnerable than the pro game. But fans love it more than ever, and the gamblers can't get enough.
I'm very aware of the subject," he said, recalling the fixers of the 1960s, Jack Molinas and Aaron Wagman.
Fact: basketball is a betting sport. Fact: the past informs the present. Fact: the game survives, despite periodic forecasts of its demise.
Consider the case of Mendy Rudolph, long known as the game's greatest referee. He, too, was a big bettor. A man in Vegas once offered to forgive Rudoph's substantial gambling losses in return for shaving a few points. The ref apparently declined, saying that he loved the game too much.
So do the fans (let us agree for now to table the issue of the dismal NBA Finals). In September, Mendy Rudolph will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
So you see, in a candid moment, David Stern could tell you what he knows about jurors. Ultimately, even the toughest among them believe what they want.
