Ron Artest and Tim Donaghy Make a Bad Week for David Stern
NBA Commissioner David Stern is a man who, despite his cunning smile he often displays, has a reputation for getting a bit flustered when things make his league look bad.
When former referee Tim Donaghy was caught allegedly manipulating point spreads as an official, Stern came down hard, in a somber tone, on the side of extensive reform of how officials are vested. Part of this reform was to be transparency, which didn't really materialize. Like most corporations, there seemed to be some hope that once Donaghy disappeared from news cycles, people would forget about the potential bigger problems that needed to be addressed.
Donaghy has not went away, however, finally finding a company willing to publish his tell-all book that reportedly lobs more serious accusations at NBA officials.
"Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA" is now available for sale online, with a publish date of Dec. 4. It is being sold through CreateSpace, a self-publishing arm of Amazon.com, although the publisher is a Florida-based business called VTi Group, Inc., whose primary business has been marketing.
The book had been dropped by Random House, perhaps out of fear of a potential lawsuit by the NBA.
The, as if that were not enough impending negative PR, Los Angeles Laker Ron Artest admitted in an interview with the Sporting News that he used to drink alcohol in the locker room as a member of the Chicago Bulls and that referee Joey Crawford insinuated that last year's Rockets/Lakers series was purposely being called in favor of the Lakers.
While Stern cannot do much to prevent the Donaghy book, he can punish Artest for his comments. The league is reportedly investigating and could hand down a fine, suspension or both.
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