Disgraced ref Tim Donaghy plans to attend NBA game … and is giving out betting advice

You remember the whole Tim Donaghy thing, right? He was the referee that was caught betting on NBA games he was officiating, and served over a year in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the FBI investigation.

Now that he’s off probation, Donaghy is back, and wants to be involved with the NBA once again. Not as a referee or league employee this time, of course, but as a sports handicapper giving basketball betting advice while working for a gambling website.

The Sporting News has the story:

In the meantime, Donaghy is turning his attention to his new career as a sports handicapper for a gambling website.

“I’m moving on to another phase in my life and that is helping Danny B. and his clients.”

Danny B., aka Daniel T. Biancullo, is Donaghy’s boss and also a convicted felon. … The two previously worked together from October 2010 until July. But U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon put an end to that, after it was revealed Biancullo had a past felony conviction on gambling-related charges. The terms of Donaghy’s probation prevented him from associating with felons.

Not exactly a surprise here, right? Donaghy is no different than most criminals, who once released from custody return to the very same activities that got them into trouble in the first place.

There’s one other part to this story, and it’s the one that likely got Donaghy this interview in the first place.

Donaghy is planning to attend an NBA game in person, his first since the scandal broke and his life was turned upside down. The plan is for Donaghy and Biancullo to be in the building for the Knicks’ home game against the Mavericks on Nov. 9.

“I don’t think there is any reason why they’d remove me from the stadium,” Donaghy told The Linemakers via phone from his Sarasota, Fla. home. “I’m there to take in a game and look at some live action and do a bit of scouting. I’m not even too sure that anyone is really going to notice me, to be honest with you.”

Obviously, this is completely ridiculous. NBA arenas are very large places. If Donaghy truly wanted to just take in a game for old times’ sake, all he’d have to do is buy a ticket, sit in his seat, and keep his mouth shut. No one is going to recognize him, unless of course he’s trying to drum up publicity for his latest commercial enterprise. Which is exactly what this is all about.

The appearance at Friday’s game has been planned for years. It’s a publicity stunt, Biancullo admits openly.

You think?

It’s uncertain whether the league will bother to intervene to prevent Donaghy from attending the game as planned; honestly, it doesn’t seem worth the trouble. It is a little sad that desperately grasping at the NBA in any way he can is all that Donaghy has left. But reminding fans of a scandal that put the credibility of the league they love in jeopardy isn’t going to endear him to anyone anytime soon.