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Tim Donaghy Biography & Facts

Timothy Francis Donaghy (; born January 7, 1967) is a disgraced former professional basketball referee who worked in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons from 1994 to 2007 until he was caught in a gambling scandal. During his career in the NBA, Donaghy officiated in 772 regular season games and 26 playoff games. Donaghy resigned from the league on July 9, 2007, after reports of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegations that he bet on games that he officiated during his last two seasons and that he made calls that affected the point spread in those games. Donaghy later admitted to betting on games he officiated in each of the 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, and 2006–07 seasons. On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation. He was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on July 29, 2008. He served 11 months in a federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida, and the remainder of his sentence in a halfway house, but was sent back to prison in August for violating his release terms. After serving out his sentence, he was released on November 4, 2009. Early life and education Born in the Philadelphia suburb of Havertown, Pennsylvania, Donaghy attended Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania along with three other NBA referees: Joey Crawford, Mike Callahan, and Ed Malloy. His father, Gerry Donaghy, was a referee at the highest levels of NCAA men's basketball association for a long time. In 1989, Donaghy graduated from Villanova University with a degree in sales and marketing. While at Villanova, he played on the school's baseball team. According to the National Basketball Referee's Association, Donaghy participated and earned All-Catholic and All-Delaware County honors in baseball and All-Delaware County honors in basketball during high school, but then-Villanova baseball coach George Bennett contends that Donaghy did not play on the varsity team and that no records indicate that he was selected to the All-Catholic team in baseball or named to the All-Delaware County basketball team. Personality and behavior Donaghy was notorious for his temper dating to his high school years.  As the father of Donaghy's lifelong best friend and fellow NBA scandal co-conspirator, Tommy Martino, said of him, “Timmy…(had) a very short temper and a penchant for wanting to get revenge for anything that he perceived as having been done to him where he was wrong.” Donaghy's character flaws informed and influenced decisions in the federal NBA betting scandal investigation, including some of the below off-court issues and events: Notorious for his temper and “short fuse” dating at least to high school straight through the NBA scandal when a federal official described him as “a fucking loose cannon” Arrested for allegedly threatening a mail carrier (charges of disorderly conduct, harassment, and stalking were dropped when the carrier didn't appear in court) Sued by neighbors for harassment and invasion of privacy (suit was dropped, but Donaghy was suspended from his country club as a result of his actions) Another neighbor said Donaghy “was so bad you can’t imagine…The guy had a personality problem from Day One, with 99% of people” with whom Donaghy came in contact. “Unless everything went his way…he just became a flaming maniac” The Mayor of his township said Donaghy had “a very dictatorial personality, a very aggressive personality” Donaghy's off-court behavior so troubled the NBA they sanctioned Donaghy by prohibiting him from working a round of playoffs one season Donaghy admitted to having someone else take his SAT exams for him when applying to Villanova University One of Donaghy's high school teachers was quoted saying, "I taught him for a year, and I think every homework assignment he turned in to me was copied." Per best friend and fellow NBA betting scandal government cooperator Tommy Martino, Donaghy cheated on his wife during the scandal in addition to soliciting prostitutes and using drugs. Donaghy's wife, soon after filing for divorce, requested a restraining order because he allegedly threatened to “knock [her] head off [her] body when he was “enraged, out of control” (matter was dropped when wife didn't appear in court) When Donaghy's name was publicized in 2007 as the referee involved in the scandal, reporters reached out to his former colleagues, teammates, classmates, and associates to learn more about Tim Donaghy, the person. For example, his hometown paper wrote:“every teammate, classmate, or associate contacted…by the [Delco] Daily Times either chose not to comment on Donaghy or didn’t return phone calls…While there are those empathetic to Donaghy and his gambling-related plight, many others consider his a karmic downfall”The (NY) Daily News wrote, "Plenty of people did not remember Donaghy fondly. 'I think he's one of those guys who always thought he was smarter than the adults. He felt like he could do what he wanted and get away with it," said one, adding, "he would always talk to you like he was a genius and you were a dummy.'" National writers wrote similar assessments, including Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski:“several sources described him as fairly unpopular with his peers, past and present…From his Philly basketball roots to his peers in the NBA, Donaghy isn’t described with much affection” Officiating career Before officiating in the NBA, Donaghy spent five years officiating in Pennsylvania high school basketball and seven seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and he was the head official for the 1993 CBA All-Star Game. The following year, he joined the NBA, where he worked for 13 years, officiating in 772 regular-season games and 20 playoff games. Donaghy was a participant in the NBA's Read to Achieve program, for which he participated in an event at the Universal Charter school during the 2002 NBA Finals. His uniform number was 21. During a 2003 regular-season game, Donaghy called a technical foul on Rasheed Wallace, then playing with the Portland Trail Blazers, for throwing a ball at another official during a game. Wallace confronted Donaghy after the game, screaming obscenities and, according to Donaghy, threatening him. Wallace was suspended for seven games; this was the longest suspension issued by the league for an incident not involving violence or drugs. Donaghy was one of three referees who worked the Pacers–Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004, which ended in a fight between Pacers players and Pistons fans. Betting scandal On July 20, 2007, columnist Murray Weiss of the New York Post reported an investigation by the FBI into allegations of an NBA referee betting on games and controlling the point spread. It was revealed that Donaghy, who claimed during the sentencing phase of his case he had a gambling problem, placed tens of thousands of dollars in bets on games d.... Discover the Tim Donaghy popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tim Donaghy books.