Ex-NBA Official Pleads Guilty to Fixing Games

Scandal is surfacing in regards to one of the Bulls games way back in the 1986-1987 NBA Finals, but luckily the Bulls aren’t to blame. It seems that Tim Donaghy, who worked as an official in the NBA until recently, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to betting on games he officiated and being paid for giving information to his associates. During his testimony Donaghy mentioned the Bulls game in which Jordan hit an 18-foot shot against the Utah Jazz in the final seconds of the game, breaking Utah’s hearts and winning the game that gave the Bulls their second straight NBA championship over the Jazz – and not to mention Jordan’s sixth and last championship with the Bulls.

There has always been speculation by Jazz fans that a call should have been made when Jordan brushed the defendant before banking the shot. Byron Russell was that defendant, and he has been quoted as saying, “He pushed off.” Mathis confirmed Jazz fans’ speculation in his testimony when according to press notes he said, “Remember when Jordan hit that winning shot? I’m going to give you exactly what the commentators said: ‘What a great move by Michael.’ Was that a great move or was that an offensive foul? There was no question it was a push-off. No buts about it. The only buts you can have is, ‘Well, it was Michael Jordan.’ That was a defining moment. The video tape would never lie. Here’s what could have happened. The referee makes the call and it’s, ‘No, no. How could he do that? It was Michael Jordan.” With Mathis’ comments having emerged, it gets one thinking about the issue of fairness in the sports world. It’s not a question of whether or not the Bulls deserved that win – the real issue is dishonesty among officials. It makes you wonder how many of those close calls could have or should have actually gone the other way. Sadly all we can do as fans is sit back and put our trust in the those we hope aren’t out to change basketball’s history, or it’s future.

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