You could easily forgive Joe Maloof for publicly freaking out about Tim Donaghy's recent allegations. The soon-to-be-sentenced referee alleged that the Sacramento Kings lost a shot at a world championship because the NBA wanted the 2002 Lakers - Kings series to go at least seven games.
But oddly, Maloof is staunchly of the opinion that there was no conspiracy against the Kings during the Western Conference Finals. And he told ESPN Radio -- 1100 in Las Vegas -- as much today, pointing out that the refereeing during that game was arguably the worst in NBA history, but not necessarily indicative of a conspiracy.
We lost the game. It was a very, very poorly officiated game. Our family has been in the NBA many years now ... it was probably the worst officiated game I've ever seen.Maloof's stance will likely be referred to by some media analysts in a manner that will involve the phrase "company line". While I (am admittedly eager to) agree with Maloof, his continued statement of poor officiating -- which it was -- does have a slight whiff of denial.
[...]we've been around the NBA and our family has a wonderful relationship with the league...I don't believe in any conspiracy at all.
[...]It was disapointing, it was a very poorly officiated game but as far as anything else, I don't believe it ever happened.
However, if he honestly believes there was no conspiracy by the NBA, then that's what he believes. Do not expect everyone to actually believe him (as mentioned in the interview, America is diametrically opposed).
Maloof also addressed the fact that Sacramento, whose citizens are apparently checking in at a 75% conspiracy belief rate, is due for a new arena. And when asked if this alleged news would affect that progress, he quickly rebuffed the hosts, pointing out the loyalty that surrounds basketball in Sactown.
I think our Fans are terrific back there, they support this team, they've supported it all along... I think if they really look deep in their hearts, they're not going to believe there was any kind of conspiracy ... If I didn't believe it, I would say something ... I don't think there's any conspiracy whatsoever ...Maloof, in my mind, doesn't believe Donaghy. And my lack of faith in the felon probably helps to bolster that belief as well, in addition to my opinion that no actual conspiracy existed or exists.
People are going to point out that his continued denial of the conspiracy indicate exactly that (denial), but Maloof is doing the only thing he can at this point: move on.
Because even if there was a conspiracy, it's not like there is any sort of compensation the NBA can hand back to the Kings or the city of Sacramento. Unless Stern promises them a top three pick in 2009 or something.
Kidding, of course, but I am looking forward to enough credible people coming forward to dispel Donaghy's allegations so we can return to just making jokes about conspiracies that don't exist.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-12-2008 @ 8:52PM
aleksthethird said...
Interesting, now the fact that there is no conspiracy in the NBA turns into an opinion or a belief. Hey, what is this for a conspiracy, when you have to 'believe' that there is none? Belief is the prerogatory of the conspiracy theorists, THEY do not have facts to support their thinking. I don't believe in conspiracies anymore.
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6-12-2008 @ 8:58PM
aleksthethird said...
One other thing about conspiracy theories is that you cannot disprove them. Saying 'there is no conspiracy' will just result in the deadly argument 'see, they are denying it, so it must be true'. It's a very simple idea, the conspiracy, that's why so many people like it. The truth, however, is always complex. People hate complexity.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:29PM
insomniac said...
The problem is that the NBA doesn't have anyone credible to dispel the beliefs.
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6-13-2008 @ 12:40AM
George B Vieto said...
I wonder what would Joey Porter say if he was a member of the Sacramento Kings basketball team?
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6-13-2008 @ 2:30AM
FNA said...
The Maloofs still want to live in the NBA world and have to say certain things to get along. I'm sure they know they got hosed.
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6-13-2008 @ 2:29AM
biff_tannen said...
It seems to me that the phrase "conspiracy" is too often confused with "crackpot" or "hair-brained". Conspiracy means nothing more than two or more parties knowingly partaking in some degree of subterfuge. Conspiracies are quite common, ranging from the simple to the very complex. If refs were 'in bed' with league officials, bookmakers, or other refs, a conspiracy was had. And that to me, does not seem too far-fetched.
It's important to stay grounded in reality, but this is 2008 - haven't we learned by now not to be so trusting of 'authority'?
Besides, there's only one owner with the stones to bite the hand that feeds him (Cuban), and as far as Stern is concerned, even he never takes more than a few irritating nibbles.
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6-13-2008 @ 2:56PM
mj said...
It's important to point out that the fouls in the 'Donaghy game' were statistical outliers and the Maloofs own a casino. So the mathematical evidence is very much on the side of Donaghy, and if any owners were going to collude, it would seem to be the Kings. Nothing against the Maloofs, I'm not accusing them, but you shouldn't own a casino and a sports franchise. The appearance of potential conflict of interest should have been enough to prevent their ownership.
How about 3 names: Barkley, Jordan, Rose. All connected with gambling, casinos and major sports in their prime. Now add in the tennis gambling scandal, the italian soccer scandal, the Gretzky scandal, the NCAA betting phenomenon (where bookies avoid huge bets on college games because insider info is assumed - which happens all the time)?
Since when did the 'educated' masses become so naive about sports betting? It was once common knowledge that games were often rigged, and after decades of brainwashing with marketing and billions of more dollars through the years, you all believe it's gotten better? And everything's fine even though Donaghy went undetected for years and hundreds of games?
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