Tim Donaghy, the former NBA referee at the center of the league’s most infamous gambling scandal, has once again stirred major controversy, this time with explosive new claims about the NBA’s handling of betting-related corruption. Appearing on the PBD Podcast, Donaghy alleged that the current wave of scandals involving players like Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones might only be scratching the surface of something far more widespread and damaging to the league’s credibility.
“I think he was trying to get ahead of the fire a little bit and talk about how they need to get gambling under control. I think he’s going to continue to try to figure out a way to put a lid on this, but it’s going to be very difficult for him because I think this is widespread.”
“I think it’s going to be very damaging to the league. I just received a text message from one of the FBI agents that worked my case, and he basically said that they’re not going to be able to cover this up like they covered up mine.”
“I think David Stern was able to put a lid on it and paint me as one bad apple, the only guy involved, and then just move on from it. The FBI said there were six or seven other people they wanted to indict, and this got shut down from the highest level.”
“Later, I found out that a guy by the name of Greg Andres, who was the head of the Eastern District of New York, took a job at a law firm and suddenly got all the outside legal counsel work for the NBA. So, it was a situation where David Stern really ran that whole investigation, and it got shut down by the highest-level people when it came to others being involved.”
If true, these are massive allegations, ones that suggest the NBA’s first gambling scandal wasn’t fully exposed. And with new player arrests surfacing, Donaghy’s timing couldn’t be more striking. Terry Rozier’s arrest earlier this week, reportedly tied to illegal betting activities, followed by arrests involving Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, has put the league in a defensive position.
Insiders have already claimed that the NBA tried to quietly bury Rozier’s case two years ago to avoid public embarrassment, something Donaghy hinted has been a long-standing pattern.
Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue earlier this week, calling it deeply disturbing and vowing to protect the integrity of the game above all else.
Still, Donaghy’s comments cast doubt on whether the league can truly contain the fallout this time. With legalized sports betting expanding rapidly and millions of dollars flowing around every NBA game, the risk of inside influence has never been higher.
For Donaghy, this moment feels like deja vu. He’s been warning for years that gambling would creep deeper into the sport once the league partnered with betting companies. Now, as more players and staffers face scrutiny, his words carry a haunting weight.
Whether Donaghy’s claims prove true or not, his bombshell remarks have reignited one of the NBA’s darkest debates: how much the league really knew back then, and how much it’s hiding now.
