Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant Rush To Defense Of Referees

MIAMI--Embattled NBA official Tim Donaghy, who pleaded guilty to felony chargers relating to betting on games, is planning to give prosecutors up to 20 names of colleagues who were also involved in gambling. Since all forms of gambling are prohibited by the NBA, the allegations could result in suspensions or worse for the referees involved.

With the officials under fire from all sides, two unlikely people have come rushing to their defense: the Heat's Dwyane Wade and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who said the refs were “wonderful people” and “credits to their profession.”

“The shameless personal attacks on these officials must stop,” Wade said on Sportscenter yesterday. “These men are credits to their profession. They are pillars of integrity and loyalty. They are also uncannily accurate. In fact, I can only remember four, maybe five calls in my entire career that they've gotten wrong. Talk about a high success rate. I only wish I was that consistent with my jump shot.”

Hours later, Kobe Bryant echoed those sentiments in an interview with ESPN’s Ric Bucher.

“I just wanted to come out and offer my support to the referees,” he said. “They have treated me very well over the course of my career and I can’t just sit here while their names get dragged through the mud. Dick Bavetta, Steve Javie, even Joey Crawford – these men have always represented the game and themselves with the utmost respect and honesty. They don’t even call me for traveling when I take five steps. I can elbow someone in the face and get away with it. And you’re going to sit here and question their ethics? Look at the facts before you start judging people.”

While Wade admitted that Donaghy was deserving of a “short suspension” he pleaded with David Stern to leave the rest of the officials out of it. He also offered to pay whatever fines were levied against them.

“It would be the height of foolishness to suspend any of the officials other than Donaghy,” said Wade. “Who the hell are we going to get to replace them? We can’t just bring in a bunch of guys off the street. We have a rapport with these guys. We have a familiarity – a rhythm, if you will. And the last thing we want to do is upset that rhythm. Also I’m volunteering to pay any fines or legal fees they may incur. I figure I owe them two or three percent of my total endorsement money anyway.”

Not all the players spoke so warmly about NBA officials. In fact, the vast majority of non-superstars claimed they were happy to see the refs in trouble and hoped the Donaghy scandal would spur the league to crack down on shoddy officiating.

“Oh this is awesome. Those arrogant morons are finally going to get theirs,” said one Eastern Conference player. “We’ve been saying for years that these guys are crooked, and now it turns out we were right. Just the fact that Kobe and D-Wade are going to bat for them should tell you something. Those guys are practically sleeping with the officials - especially Wade. That dude might as well just carry his own whistle and blow the fouls himself.”

Law enforcement officials are now reporting that Donaghy shared information with gamblers about which players would be favored by referees and which would be victimized by ticky-tack calls. If true, it would lend credence to the notion that referees are biased.

“Tim wasn’t point shaving or anything like that. He was just giving the gamblers some inside info,” said one law enforcement official, who wished to remain anonymous. “So he would say that Dick Bavetta was a big fan of the Lakers or that Steve Javie had a hard-on for Dwyane Wade or whatever, and that’s how he would help these people win money. My only question is this: why in the hell did they need to pay-off some ref to tell them this shit? Haven’t they been watching basketball the past five years?”

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