Much to the chagrin of NBA Commissioner David Stern, the proverbial thorn-in-his-side Tim Donaghy has resurfaced this week in interviews with ESPN and 60 Minutes. In NBA circles, Donaghy may be the most hated man in the world right now. He’s drawn the ire of virtually everyone involved with the league: the commissioner (for obvious reasons), referees (he’s been harping for two solid years that the refs are crooked and slanted), players (he’s admitted that some players purposely get the shaft from officials), and fans (he disgraced a sport that many people love by betting on games he was involved in).

It’s a shame that Donaghy is so loathed by the public at large, because he is touching on a subject that the NBA has had to duck for much of this decade: bad officiating. I’m not talking ‘bad’ in the sense of gambling on games. In that respect, Donaghy does appear to be the “rogue” official, as David Stern so claims. I mean ‘bad” as it relates to the quality of NBA officials.

Watching Donaghy give stone-faced, lifeless answers over the past few days has had many squirming in their chairs. He comes across as genuinely unlikable and looks uncomfortable in his clothes. Let’s make sure, however, that we don’t let the poor packaging turn us off on the contents inside. I understand that asking people to listen to what Donaghy is saying will trigger more than a few gag reflexes, but he what he says does carry some merit.

Think back, for example, to the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Kings and Lakers – specifically, game six. Do a couple of YouTube searches on that game and almost all top hits will be montages of the horrible officiating in those games. We’re not talking a few minor oversights that can be justified in spite of the urge to Monday-morning quarterback. The evidence is clear: that game was one of the most poorly officiated games in recent memory.

If seven years is too far back, then just go down the road to the 2006 NBA Finals between the Heat and the Mavericks. A similar YouTube search yields similar results. These two examples are not exhaustive, but representative of a persistent, worsening problem in the NBA.

The evidence is so overwhelming that there are two rough conclusions to be drawn: either the league is full of incompetent officials or the officials are so good at their job that they mask game-fixing with seemingly-boneheaded officiating.

David Stern is no dummy. He is a smart man that brought the NBA from certain peril to a global money-making machine. He has an entire staff of dedicated employees around him. There is not an argument on this planet that can convince me that he is oblivious to the officiating problem in the NBA. The question is, why doesn’t he fix (pardon the pun) it?

The possible – and I highly emphasize POSSIBLE – answer: maybe he doesn’t want to.
The NBA, like all other professional sporting leagues, is a business. They are about the competition second, but profits always come first. That’s not a bad thing, obviously, but it is important for some perspective. David Stern & Co. have to do what’s best for the league to keep it in business and profitable.

What team would be more profitable as champion: the Chris Webber-led Sacramento Kings or the Kobe Bryant and Shaq-led Los Angeles Lakers? Sacramento was (and still is) a flailing NBA market. Los Angeles is one of the top three NBA markets in the entire league.

Is Dirk Nowitzki or Dwyane Wade a more ideal poster boy for the NBA? Most would say the flashy Wade is likely to sell more posters and put more butts in the seats.

It would be ridiculous to pretend that the NBA doesn’t see more dollar signs with a certain team winning the championship than with another. I would venture to guess the league was none-too-happy with the Pistons winning in 2003, nor with the Pistons-Spurs Finals the following year. Ratings go up when superstars (LeBron, Wade) or super match-ups (Celtics-Lakers) are involved.

In his interviews, Donaghy has reinforced his scumbag reputation. He expressed little remorse for what he did. But for just one moment, pretend he wasn’t caught gambling on games. Just imagine that he came forward with all of his allegations without the betting stigma that has gone along with it.

It’s easy to forget this now, but let’s remember that shoddy NBA officiating has been in the news for years. We question why a Rafer Alston foul is a Kobe Bryant no call. We wonder why a JR Smith will get T’d up quicker than a LeBron James.

It’s a shame that Tim Donaghy did what he did. Not just for himself, or his family, or even the league, but for the game itself. His lapse in judgment gave the NBA just what it wanted on a silver platter: to sweep questionable officiating under the rug and dump it all on one more, helpless soul.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, for the sake of the game, I hope there are more Tim Donaghy’s out there. No, not the gambling-addict who compromises the game. Not that type. I’m referring to the insider-type with real information that helps to shed light on the league’s problems. With more Tim Donaghy’s around, the NBA officiating problem has a chance at getting fixed.