Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to taking thousands of dollars in payoffs from a professional gambler for inside betting tips.
The sentencing of Donaghy closes a chapter in a scandal that convulsed the NBA, which has angrily denied Donaghy's claim that corruption among referees runs deeper.
15 months? That's it? With good behavior, he'll be out in less than a year. This story has puzzled me from the beginning. It took the mass media days, if not weeks, before realizing the relevance of the scandal. David Stern came out on his high-horse and talked down to anyone who suggested the remote possibility that more referees could be involved. And the media let him. Now this scumbag will be out of jail within a year.
