Where to from here?

The dust is settling, and we’re beginning to see the aftermath.

It’s not ruined, it has taken some serious hits – it’s definitely not pretty, but it’ll be able to go on…

But will it ever be the same?

…

And that’s the question the NBA faces today, and the day after… ad infinitum.

The NBA has long focused on the behaviour of the players – long believing that any semblance of a downfall would come from that quarter. Player conduct, player appearance, player education… all were seen as necessities for staving off any impending disaster with in the NBA. It was all about the image of the athlete. Well, now it’s obvious that disaster has come from a totally different direction.

Enter Tim Donaghy.

Donaghy broke more than just the law and his contractual obligations when he was caught. He broke an almost sacred trust that we have in the adjudicators of professional sports. The trust that we all have that some things are just… sacrosanct.

Well… so much for that. Donaghy was more than amicable towards gambling away the integrity of the league. It would appear that he found himself in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The mob is involved. And Donaghy has brought the NBA to a level of infamy it’s never found itself even remotely in.