Remember Tim Donaghy? He’s the former NBA referee who was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for fixing games. It was determined that he was gambling on NBA action. That, of course, is a big no-no for referees. Donaghy, who was an NBA ref for 13 years and officiated 792 games, resigned from his gig in 2007.
The 50-year-old has found himself in trouble again this week, as TMZ is reporting Donaghy was arrested in Florida on Tuesday, and the story behind his latest arrest is truly bizarre.
According to the TMZ report, Donaghy had reason to believe his daughter was doing drugs with a friend at a nearby home. As a protective father, he decided to go bring her home. For reasons that aren’t clear, he also decided to take a hammer with him.
Donaghy arrived at the home and began arguing outside with his daughter. During the argument, a man confronted Donaghy, who allegedly brandished the hammer and threatened to use it if the man were to come any closer.
After the man called police, Donaghy was arrested for aggravated assault. In a classic case of he said/he said, Donaghy’s attorney claims he only had the hammer to protect himself and never used it to threaten anyone.
Donaghy wrote a book about his scandal, Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA, which was published in 2009. Before Game 5 of this past year’s NBA Finals, Donaghy claimed the league would push the refs to extend the series. That prediction did not come to fruition, as Golden State won the series 4-1.
