PHILADELPHIA — A former federal prosecutor tapped to represent NBA referees in the league's review of its officiating counseled five referees interviewed by the FBI during the Tim Donaghy probe.
The five had no inkling that Donaghy was betting on games, lawyer Gregory T. Magarity said.
"They all knew him. They all reffed with him. But none of them knew anything about illegal gambling," Magarity said Thursday from his office in Philadelphia.
"He was doing this stuff from pay phones, calling bets into somebody. Nobody saw anything; no one suspected anything like that," Magarity said.
NBA commissioner David Stern plans a sweeping review of league officiating in the wake of this summer's betting scandal, in which Donaghy pleaded guilty to betting on games and providing inside information to others. The NBA has hired former federal prosecutor Lawrence B. Pedowitz to oversee the effort.
Magarity likely will negotiate terms of the review with Pedowitz and represent the referees' union and any referees interviewed during the process, he said.
He does not expect any further legal fallout, and questioned the source of reports that Donaghy will name 20 colleagues involved in casual — but perhaps impermissible — gambling activities.
"This was a major scandal that rocked the NBA. It certainly rocked the referees association," Magarity said. "They want to take a look at everything ... to try to prevent anything like this from ever happening again."
ELSON INJURES EYE: San Antonio Spurs center Francisco Elson injured his left eye during a game this summer and will have surgery in the coming week. Elson suffered a "blowout fracture" of his left eye orbit during a game against Belarus on Aug. 19 while playing for the Dutch national team, the Spurs said. Elson should be cleared for full-contact play by mid- to late September but will have to wear a protective face mask during the upcoming NBA season.
CELTICS HIRE THIBODEAU: The Boston Celtics added veteran NBA coach Tom Thibodeau, known as a defensive specialist, to their coaching staff Thursday. In his 17 seasons as an assistant, the last four in Houston, Thibodeau has helped his teams finish in the NBA's top 10 in team defense 14 times. He also has coached with the Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Seattle SuperSonics, San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers.