By Larry Durstin
Here in Cleveland and all over the sports world, it’s that time of year again. I’m talking about the annual blossoming of conspiracy theories claiming that last week’s NBA draft lottery and current NBA playoffs are fixed and that Commissioner David Stern (aka Beelzebub) is orchestrating this chicanery.
Once again the airwaves and the blogosphere are atwitter 24/7 with angry assertions that (1) the draft lottery was rigged to give the New Orleans Hornets the number one pick because they have just been sold and Stern is placating the new owner and (2) the referees are making sure that the Miami Heat win because Stern wants them in the Finals to boost television ratings.
I’ve been an avid follower of the NBA for nearly half a century and have covered the Cleveland Cavaliers as a journalist for the past 15 years. And for as long as I can remember, irate fans have been screaming “fix” since the glory days of the Bill Russell Celtics of the ‘60s, when referee Sid Borgia was referred to as “the sixth Celtic” for his alleged favoritism towards Boston. In the NBA, conspiracy theories have always been a cottage industry.
Of course, the fact that there has never been a shred of real evidence – none, zero, nada – that NBA games have ever been fixed won’t stop the blizzard of hysterical charges from the hardcore conspiracy buffs or the knowing nods from the casual, chattering finger pointers gathered around water coolers, watering holes and within earshot of the abyss known as sports talk radio. It’s clear that nothing under the sun can thwart the litany of claims that, since taking over as commissioner in 1984, Stern and his minions have fixed playoff series, number one draft picks and everything in between.
Now, admittedly, a belief in conspiracies is embedded deeply in the psyche of the American public and, to my mind, is fueled primarily by impotence, ignorance and a growing tendency to embrace victimhood. The result: simplistic, self-pitying attempts to explain – bumper-sticker style – the vagaries and complexities of the universe. There’s never been a shortage of folks ready and willing to take up permanent residence in the shallow end of the critical-thinking pool. And that’s all well and good and certainly makes for spicy copy. But the assertion that Stern is at the center of a cabal of plotters rigging just about every aspect of the NBA’s activities simply doesn’t pass the common sense test.
Even a cursory examination of exactly what would be involved in fixing lottery drawings and playoff games reveals monumental risks, including the ending of careers and long stints in prison on the part of Stern and the others who would be involved in perpetrating such a colossal fraud on basketball fans all over the world.
First of all, since Stern could not do anything alone, he would have to – in order to, say, actually fix the outcome of games – recruit a number of referees into his devious plan, which would automatically put him at risk of blackmail or whistle-blowing. What would he pay these refs to do this and how would he get the money to them? Swiss bank accounts? This would have to involve a significant chunk of change since you couldn’t expect these guys to risk their careers and their freedom for nothing more than a small raise or a pat on the back.
So let’s assume that Stern has concocted these schemes as many times as his most strident critics have accused him of doing – which would be dozens of times, mostly involving advancing big-market teams like the Lakers and the Celtics in the playoffs in order to earn the most in broadcast revenues.
And further assuming that accomplishing this would involve many more than two or three refs, it would be safe to presume that Stern must have conspired with numerous officials and is depending on them to never come to him for hush money; or is hoping that they have never let it slip to a wife (who might someday decide to use this info in a messy divorce proceeding); or is counting on them to have never made a drunken boast to a friend or stranger that they were involved in the most sinister sports story in American history; or is praying that they never have a pang of conscience (after getting religion, perhaps) and decide to co-operate with the Feds – in exchange for immunity – in bringing down an entire global conglomerate and then writing a tell-all, blockbuster book about the whole sordid affair, with a cross-country tour and movie to follow.
There’s an old saying that two can keep a secret if one of them is dead, yet what we’re talking about here is perhaps dozens and dozens of people – remember Stern has allegedly been fixing things for nearly 30 years – never breaking their silence, never capitalizing (at least to anyone’s knowledge) in any way from what would be, by far, the biggest sports scandal of all time.
So, why have no crusading reporters or zealous prosecutors – trying to make a name for themselves by exploring such a vast criminal enterprise – been able to produce even one piece of evidence implicating anyone? Perhaps they are part of the sinister plan, too. Or, maybe just maybe, Stern has some kind of nod-wink-mental-telepathy-and-deniability-all-rolled-into-one thing going on with just a splash of the DaVinci Code layered in. If that is indeed the case, then it’s certain that no one will be able to begin to decipher anything at all for at least a couple hundred years.
Anyway, let’s get these conspiracy theorists straight as to exactly what they are implying: David Stern, who’s the supposed smartest guy in the world, makes over $20 million a year and is regally presiding over a multi-billion dollar industry, has put his own freedom, fortune and legacy (not to mention his sports very survival) in the sweaty hands of a bunch of referees and underlings with the hopes that they never crack. And he does all of this in order to garner a few television ratings points and sell a few more shoes?
Well that must mean that unless everyone involved has the capacity to clam up in a way that even the KGB and Mafia members have historically been unable to, old David must be spending a lot of sleepless nights wondering if someone is going to flip on him.
Only a fool would believe that.
[Photo by Keith Allison]
Larry Durstin is an independent journalist who has covered politics and sports for a variety of publications and websites over the past 20 years. He was the founding editor of the Cleveland Tab and an associate editor at the Cleveland Free Times. Durstin has won 12 Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards, including six first places in six different writing categories. LarryDurstinATyahoo.com
5 Responses to “Only Fools Believe the NBA is Fixed”
David Eden
Then I must be a fool. (Well, of course I am.) So there was no crooked ref who was busted? Oh, are you speaking of collusion coming from the top?
Larry Durstin
No referee has ever been busted for fixing games. Tim Donaghy, who was involved in a betting scandal and involvement with gamblers, said he never fixed a game. Plus he never claimed to be taking orders from higher-ups
ragarcia
Was it not PT Barnum that said “a fool and his money will soon part” as well as “there’s a fool born every minute.”?
fran carey
larry,
all you have to do is take a close look at the nba from the departure of larry o’brien to the start od stern’s reign. suspicious lottery picks, longer playoff series (look it up), reffing scandals etc,
it went from a game to big business. you are the one who is naive. i guess some people want to keep there head in the sand and believe that pro sports is something other than a big business, where profit is put ahead of all else.
David Keating
First of all, you’re trying to say that by disproving one conspiracy theory, you’re disproving them all.
Most of the conspiracies probably have no basis, but anyone watching the way these games are refereed can see there is something going on, whether it be crooked refs, orders from the top, whatever. Referees are deciding outcomes of games. And you twist Donaghy’s words on the subject. While Donaghy did say HE didn’t fix games or take orders from above, he does accuse other referees of fixing games, and also says that NBA executives were in fact manipulating referees to influence the outcome of games. Now, you could of course dismiss Donaghy’s credibility, but you decided to use his words to support your argument, so if we are taking Donaghy’s word at face value, then you’ve essentially provided the evidence against your own argument.