Rudy Gobert's money gesture at Scott Foster showed why the NBA must hold its referees more accountable
Conspiracy theories of NBA referees taking money to impact the outcome of games didn’t die when Tim Donaghy was busted in 2007 for doing just that. They simply became less of a mainstream talking point, relegated to social media comment sections and Reddit threads.
It doesn’t take much to bring those claims back to the forefront, though, and Rudy Gobert proved that in Friday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he made a money gesture in response to a late foul call by Scott Foster. Gobert elaborated on it after the game.
“I’ll bite the bullet again,” he said. “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
Rudy Gobert spoke on sports betting and the NBA following last night’s game. pic.twitter.com/aMwVassxZ8
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 9, 2024
Just like that, the integrity of NBA officiating was back under scrutiny. It’s one thing for sports betting fans to accuse NBA officials of fixing games. It’s another thing for a player to make that type of accusation. And it doesn’t help that Foster was a close friend of Donaghy. Foster saw his name dragged into the 2007 scandal after records showed he received 134 calls from Donaghy during the time the disgraced ex-referee was betting on games.
The NBA responded Sunday by fining Gobert $100,000, which was necessary because, aside from him crossing the line of criticizing officiating, that specific rhetoric can’t be allowed from players. It only threatens to fester and ruin the credibility of a league that’s already been rocked by scandal. At the same time, if the goal was to convince people everything is on the up and up, the NBA didn’t go nearly far enough.
When the Donaghy scandal happened, sports betting was banned in most of the United States. In 2024, it’s not only legal and easily accessible in most places, but the league itself is a partner with sportsbook operators. That means new guardrails have to be put in place to protect the league’s integrity and that might just need to come in the form of transparent consequences for referees.
Whether it’s a strike system that leads to some sort of suspension or a fine system, the league has to make it clear to fans that referees won’t be allowed to repeatedly make bad calls and negatively influence the outcome of games. This seems especially pertinent in a year where officiating has come under extreme scrutiny. This isn’t to suggest the refs are up to no good. As the league would admit itself, they’re humans who make mistakes. Those mistakes just happen to carry a lot more weight in 2024.
They should face some sort of consequence for those mistakes, if to only encourage the public games aren’t being intentionally influenced. Otherwise, the ghost of Donaghy will continue to haunt the league every time something questionable happens.