NBA Conspiracy Theorists Claim Tim Donaghy Completely Innocent

NEW YORK--When the news broke that NBA referee Tim Donaghy was being investigated for possible involvement in a gambling scandal, fans expressed shock that the most sacred trust in sports had been broken. Now, the conspiracy theorists have come out of the woodwork, claiming that the whole thing is a conspiracy orchestrated by the league to distract from dismal ratings and overall decline in the quality of the sport.

In their opinion, Donaghy is simply a pawn, and is completely innocent of all charges.

“This is just another conspiracy cooked up by Stern and his henchman to distract people from what a truly dismal product the NBA has become,” wrote Carl, a poster on Insidehoops, a popular NBA forum. “Isn’t it convenient that this is all popping up just a few months after one of the worst Finals in NBA history? It’s so obvious I can’t believe there isn't more of an uproar. Tim Donaghy is innocent. Tim Donaghy didn’t bet on anything. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Tim Donaghy’ wasn’t an actor hired by the league to pretend to be a crooked referee to create this big smokescreen in the first place.”

The most popular theory, however, is that Stern targeted Donaghy for his conspiracy because Donaghy was unwilling to give preferential treatment to star players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

“It’s a known fact that NBA officials are ordered to give the star treatment to the Kobe Bryants, LeBron Jameses, and Dwyane Wades of the league,” wrote Monty, a commenter on the AOL Fanhouse blogs. “My guess is that Donaghy didn’t play ball and that’s why he was singled out for this little charade. So Stern gets to flex his muscles AND he gets to create a big fat conspiracy to get everybody talking about point shaving instead of more important matters, like the fact that the draft lottery is rigged every year. It’s conspiracies on top of conspiracies on top of conspiracies. Hell, even I could be on it. Holy shit…am I?”

Some observers have cited the involvement of the mafia as evidence that the Donaghy scandal is more fiction than fact.

“Oh, the mafia is involved now?” wrote another poster. “Very interesting. So now the NBA wants us to believe that Tony Soprano and his wise guys grabbed Tim Donaghy by the collar and told him to fix the playoffs? What does he take us for, morons? We don’t believe just any crazy story - just the ones coming from us.”

The NBA has a long history of alleged conspiracies and cover-ups, from the rigging of draft lotteries to the affording of preferential treatment to teams and players in large markets. So far Stern has been able dodge those allegations and dismiss them as pure paranoia, but the current scandal may signal that the walls are closing in on the embattled commissioner.

“The NBA’s credibility has been flushed down the toilet like so much crumpled up toilet paper,” said New York Post writer Joel Sherman. “Whether this referee was involved in point shaving or whether this is another conspiracy cooked up by the commish, it’s hard to argue that darkness has fallen on the NBA. This whole thing could end with the ouster of Stern from his position, or the complete disintegration of the league, or the entire sport of basketball being eradicated from American society. Or worse yet it could all blow over. What a black day that would be.”

The league released a statement Sunday regarding the Donaghy case and has now released a second statement regarding the alleged conspiracy behind the case.

“This is not a conspiracy,” the statement read. “This referee is actually corrupt. He probably gambled on games and he probably even fixed the games he gambled on. We’re not making this up. This is real corruption that goes to the very heart of the NBA. Seriously, it’s the scandal of the century. Don’t try to make it out to be something else. Just enjoy it for what it is.”

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