Tim Livingston, a long-time sports journalist and the creator/host of the 10-episode podcast deep-dive into the NBA Betting Scandal involving Donaghy, aptly named “Whistleblower,” has been.

1. 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 has a gambling problem, placed tens of thousands of dollars in bets on games during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 season and had.
2. Lots of people make bets, but for an NBA referee, gambling is seen as the kiss of death. The NBA was so concerned about the integrity of the game that it contractually required referees to abstain from all forms of gambling, with the sole exception of horse racing during the off-season summer months.
3. Former NBA ref Tim Donaghy, at the heart of the basketball league's notorious betting scandal, says legal sports gambling comes with great dangers.

Fox News Flash top headlines for January 28

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Tim Donaghy already brought the sort of crooked, scripted outcomes professional wrestling loves to the NBA -- and lost his job and went to jail.

His newest employer, Major League Wrestling, thrives on those sort of shenanigans.

The fix is in!

That’s just fine this time around for MLW and Donaghy, the disgraced former NBA referee who pulled on the pinstripes and made his ring debut for the Florida-based promotion in typical nefarious fashion.

Donaghy was the latest wrestling ref to side with the bad guy and used underhanded tactics against Savio Vega to pull off the illegitimate victory. The bell rang at the end of the Caribbean Strap match and Donaghy raised the hand of the cocksure co-conspirator Richard Holliday.

They were in cahoots all along!

'Tim, you called that right down the middle,' Holliday said in the post-match interview.

'Absolutely, just like in 2007 when the Lakers played the Kings, everything was on the up and up,' Donaghy said.

OK, they probably weren’t laughing at NBA headquarters.

But for the 54-year-old Donaghy, the decision to tap into his heel personna for a payday and have some fun was a lock.

'I certainly am not shying away from the fact that I made some mistakes and I made some poor choices,' Donaghy said by phone Thursday. 'It is what it is, and unfortunately I have to live with it.'

Donaghy pleaded guilty in 2008 to wire fraud and transmitting betting information for taking thousands of dollars from a gambler for inside tips on games, including games he worked. He was sentenced by a federal judge to 15 months behind bars.

Donaghy, who lives in Sarasota, Florida, was contacted though Facebook by MLW chief operating officer Jared St. Laurent late year about making an appearance. Donaghy taped the episode in Orlando toward the end of 2020 and the 'MLW: Fusion' episode aired Wednesday night. Donaghy’s controversial call gets a replay at 10 p.m. Saturday on beIN Sports.

The crooked ref gimmick is a staple in pro wrestling -- Nick Patrick ditched WCW and joined the outlaw NWO; Hulk Hogan lost his WWF title to Andre the Giant because of an evil twin referee; 'Dangerous' Danny Davis was the master of the fast count -- and Donaghy hoped his new career in MLW would stick.

'Whatever they need me to do, I’m a team player and I’m more than willing to sit down and figure out what’s best for them,' Donaghy said. 'It was definitely something that I couldn’t turn down and hopefully it’s something in the future, I can be part of it.'

Donaghy's first foray into the squared circle was not calling a traditional wrestling match. In a Caribbean Strap match, Vega and Holliday were tethered together with leather and the objective was to touch all four turnbuckles in succession. Vega hit three straight when Donaghy froze in front of the fourth and blocked clear path toward victory. Vega pushed Donaghy out of the way but ... it was too late! Holliday sneaked in and smacked turnbuckle No. 4 to win the bout.

'Come on ref, get out of the way,' announcer Rich Bocchini shouted. 'What the hell is this? Come on now!'

Talk about a bad beat for Vega.

'It worked. I would be shocked if we didn’t see Tim again,' St. Laurent said.

Donaghy wrote a book about the betting scandal, had a movie made of his life story and now runs a sports betting website.

'The whole situation is close to probably 10 years behind me now,' Donaghy said. 'I’m fortunate that I have a good family and good friends that have supported me. Things couldn’t be better.'

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is back in a striped shirt, playing a crooked official in the wresting ring. Donaghy once served prison time in a basketball gambling scandal.

Donaghy was in the ring this week as a corrupt referee in the Major League Wrestling show Fusion. During the match, Donaghy helped wrestler Richard Holliday defeat fan favorite Savio Vega for the Caribbean heavyweight championship.

Everything was on the up and up,” Donaghy asserts in a staged interview after the bout, called a strap match.

An angry Vega says, “You cheated on me,” and follows Donaghy off-camera as if seeking a confrontation.

The 54-year-old Donaghy later said he thought fans would find the show entertaining. He added that he was “a little out of my comfort zone” but believed it went well, according to Sports Illustrated.

“Wrestling is a form of entertainment, and I’m having fun with it,” Donaghy said. “It got a little more physical than I expected, but it was definitely exciting. Everyone was very helpful and professional, and I hope I’m part of it again.”

‘Mafia Heavyweights’

A native of the Philadelphia area, Donaghy officiated in the National Basketball Association from 1994 until he resigned in 2007.

After his resignation, he pleaded guilt to charges of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce, according to ESPN.

Movie About Nba Ref Gambling

Donaghy cooperated with prosecutors in the case and received a 15-month prison sentence.

In a book published in 2009, Donaghy writes, “During this dark period, I associated with sleazy bookies and reputed Mob figures, slowly becoming someone my family and friends no longer recognized.”

He added that he “passed inside information to wise guys who were making millions of dollars on my picks and lining the pockets of Mafia heavyweights.”

The book is titled Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA. In 2013, Donaghy spoke at The Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

Pete Rose’s Betting Advice

Donaghy appears in a recent podcast series titled Whistleblower, by sports journalist Tim Livingston. The multi-part podcast examines illegal gambling and Mafia influence in the NBA.

Donaghy, who lives in Sarasota, Florida, is associated with a sports betting service called Ref Picks: Tim Donaghy’s Handicappers. The Ref Picks website notes that Donaghy knows “how and what can affect a score.” The site adds that Donaghy has a “leg up on most handicappers” because of his “insider experience in officiating games.”

Donaghy is not the only former sports figure affiliated with a sports betting company. Former Major League Baseball player and manager Pete Rose also is associated with a handicapping service. In the 1980s, Rose was banned from baseball for betting on and against his team.

Nba Ref Caught Gambling

Rose recently agreed to serve as a national spokesman for oddsmaker Wayne Allyn Root’s Vegas Winners sports-wagering analysis and advice service.

This comes as sports betting is spreading across the country. Nationwide, 20 states and Washington, D.C., allow sports wagering either on mobile devices or in-person at casino sportsbooks. Legislation to allow sports betting is up for consideration in Georgia and other states.

Nba Gambling Ref Movie

Nba Ref Gambling Podcast

The post Ex-NBA Ref Snared in Gambling Scandal Acts as Crooked Wrestling Official appeared first on Casino.org.

Nba Ref Betting On Games Movie

We’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the greats of the industry as well as some of the emerging future kings! We’ve put some links below to give you an overview of the type of clients that we’ve had the pleasure to work with!