Former official Donaghy says NBA has pressured officials to call games for Nets over Raptors

With the Raptors and Nets set to throw the ball up on Game 2 of their opening round playoff series on Tuesday night, disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy went on Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto and said that he believes the Raptors are at a disadvantage in the series.

“They’re not only going against the Brooklyn Nets but going against the league office,” Donaghy said. “They have a very talented team and have to be that much better than the Brooklyn Nets. I have picked Brooklyn to win the series with (Paul) Pierce, (Kevin) Garnett, Joe Johnson and even Jason Kidd. When you look at the coaches – the referees are going to be more active to talk and respond to (Kidd) over (Raptors coach) Dwane Casey.”

Donaghy believes that the league office indirectly trains officials to favor certain teams.

“What they do is they actually send in a representative from the league office to sit down with the referees at an 11 o’clock meeting in the morning where they go over game film. They will show the referees what they want called, what they want them to concentrate on, what they feel needs to be called or let go in a series to avoid any problems. With that, you would leave the room and say to yourself one team is put at an advantage or disadvantage.

“In this situation, Brooklyn would be put at an advantage. A Brooklyn-Miami matchup would bring great ratings and that’s what this is all about for the NBA and the league offices – bringing in as many dollars as they can.”

Donaghy wasn't surprised by what happened in Game 1.

“Some of the things that the league does and continues to do puts these teams at a disadvantage — like the Toronto Raptors — because moving forward they won’t bring in the big dollars for the league. It’s terrible for the fans (of) Toronto. They go and support that team but really they’re going to have trouble moving on based on talent and what takes place on the floor when they’re really going against the refs and the league, along with the Nets.”

The league issued a response later in the evening, and didn't pull any punches. This from NBA spokesman Michael Bass, via Michael Grange.

"Tim Donaghy is a convicted felon looking for any opportunity for people to listen to his baseless allegations. For Mr. Donaghy to continually try to challenge his former colleagues' ethics is distasteful, and says more about his own integrity than it could ever say about our referees who are the best and most scrutinized game officials in the world."

Donaghy was an NBA official from 1994-2007 before being fired for betting on games he officiated. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fixing NBA games.