See, this is the problem with going to prison on felony charges... You forfeit any credibility the second you walk in the doors. So for Tim Donaghy—who just in the last two weeks has claimed that he can predict the playoffs based on referee assignments, and alleged that referee Bill Kennedy is a homosexual—that’s a problem. When you evolve from an NBA ref to a professional “whistle-blower” on a failed system, being a convicted felon doesn’t help your credibility.
Tim Donaghy, And Another Nasty Case Of He-Said-She-Said
Which brings us to Donaghy’s latest dispute, this time with a book publisher. Over at Ball Don’t Lie, Yahoo!‘s Dan Devine shows admirable objectivity in reporting the situation—more than Donaghy deserves, really—and paints a picture of a life mired in turmoil. Check out the entire account of the bizarre back-and-forth here, and some excerpts are after the jump.
In interviews, both Donaghy and Vercher [Shawna, president of Donaghy’s publisher] also confirmed that the separation has to do, at least in part, with accounting and fiscal disputes - chiefly, discrepancies over exact numbers of copies of “Personal Foul” sold, arguments over revenues generated from sales and the disbursement of attendant royalties. As you might expect, they have vastly different perspectives on said disputes, but both acknowledged that the seed of the schism was — again, at least in part — financial.
[...]
“He threatened to come here,” Vercher said, claiming that the prospect of Donaghy appearing at VTi’s Largo, Fla., offices in search of royalties (which she says were not yet available, terming the fiscal turnaround “not a fast process”) rankled her employees and frightened her.
[...]
“I want to make myself very clear: I have not threatened her [or] any of her employees in any way, shape or form,” Donaghy told BDL.
Who do you believe? It all centers on what you think of Donaghy. Vercher claims he threatened her and mentioned his mob ties in trying to strongarm her publishing company for royalties. And if you subscribe to the theory that Donaghy was just some rogue degenarate in the NBA officiating ranks, then that certainly sounds like someone who might mention mob ties in desperately threatening some woman for money.
Of course, he’s also an easy target if you’re looking to smear someone. Nobody believes Donaghy because he made a career out of lying and living a double life.
But does that mean he’s lying this time? It certainly seems unrealistic that he’d have the gall to cite his mob contacts—after, you know, he testified in court about helping the mob. Something tells me his mob contacts ended right then and there. Even Donaghy wouldn’t exaggerate that connection.
But then, that’s the problem. Who really knows with this guy? He’s got no credibility, and he’s definitely exaggerated some aspects of the truth throughout this process. Would he threaten a woman? Seems extreme. But sadly, Tim Donaghy forfeited the benefit of the doubt a long time ago.
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