Betts
10-02-2008, 07:09 PM
From the DOK:
Stern: Recommendations from Pedowitz Report will be implemented
By Mike Baldwin, mbaldwin@opubco.com
http://www.newsok.com/stern-recommendations-from-pedowitz-report-will-be-implemented/article/3306505
Published: October 2, 2008
NBA commissioner David Stern said all recommendations made by Larry Pedowitz in a 133-page report released Thursday will be implemented by the league and many already were implemented during Pedowitz's 14-month investigation. Stern said there are no assurances criminal activity will never be part of the NBA again after it was discovered last year that referee Tim Donaghy bet on games he officiated. But the NBA commissioner said the league will constantly pursue to eliminate potential problems and even hopes coaches and players will refrain from whining about officiating.
Listed below are some of David Stern's comments, hours after Pedowitz's report was released.
On less tolerance on players and coaches criticizing officials:
"I think our players, our coaches and our referees understand that it's time for this family to come together and to focus on the game, to remove what even may be good faith and gamesmanship and whining, which can have a negative impact as an unintended consequence. Instead of me having less tolerance I would like to think the reawakening of our family on the impact such things (like whining) have on the reputation of our game. But I don't want to shrink from the responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen by enforcing our rules."
On whether he's confident the league will avoid future Donaghy-like scandals:
"The only thing I'm confident of is if anything intelligent can be done by a sports league that we'll be in the first rank of rules, limitations, procedures and analysis, that we will be up there with the very best. No one will have a better system than we do, although we'll share our system with everybody so we'll all have as good a system as each other.
"All that said, the idea that criminal activity will exist every place in the world except sports is just something we can't guarantee. But we're going to have the most effective possible system that's ever been devised."
On Donaghy being the only referee found to be involved in illegal activity:
"We found no reason to conclude that the U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI were incorrect in their findings that there was no other criminal activity about game manipulation. Period. There were multiple sets of reviews (other than the Pedowitz report)."
On some team's concerns certain referees were accused of being biased?
"We couldn't establish that in the investigation but we're going to be mindful of the concern. Through the transparency, and (hiring) Major General (Ronald) Johnson (to oversee referee operations), it will help us a lot in dealing with our teams and ultimately our fans. We feel good about our ability to tell the story and respond to teams' concerns and very much chip away at issues that are raised because fans feel their team got a raw deal on a particular call or a particular game."
On the economy being down turn possibly affecting the NBA this season:
"We except to see some softness in the composition of our ticket make-up. We don't know that attendance will be down. Based on early results there will be a lower component of season tickets and a higher component of partial season tickets, groups and day of game. But clearly as business gets affected by the slow down, then spending will get affected both personally and by business.
"Sports can't, I don't believe, be apart from that reality. The only thing that probably will increase will be television viewing as a low-priced alternative to spending money going to the movies, going out to eat or going to an event... But our network arrangements are strong. Our team's local arrangements are strong in respects to TV and sponsorhships."
On implementing all of the Pedowitz report's recommendations:
"We will implement all of them and will be advising our board of governors at our meeting on Oct. 22. Many recommendations were pushing before we started last season, given the immediacy of having to play a season. Right after the Donaghy plea, we said, 'Tell us what you're thinking about that might affect this issues.' Publishing the schedule of referee crews we did that this past season. We said, 'Don't hold back. As you move along make recommendations to us.' The recommendations have been very solid and we think effective."
On making officials more available to the media to explain rule interpretation:
"Particular referees will be made available on a more consistent basis... We're determined to demystify the process and share with the media, and therefore our fans, the rules, the ins and outs as well as the mistakes that inevitably will be made. It won't be on a game-to-game basis. Our plan is when there are interpretations that come into our question we need to have our referees more accessible."
On the benefits from the Pedowitz report:
"There are very good 12 pages spent describing our referee program. It's not as juicy as some of the other parts of the report but I recommend it to the media as a starting place. I scratch my head and say, 'Why did we have to wait for the Pedowitz report for this to be in writing and distributed.' There is an even more comprehensive description of everything that's done that we owe the public."
On the Pedowitz's concerns that some players are gambling substantial amounts of money on team flights:
"Players in all sports have been playing cards in the back of buses and on planes forever. When the stakes get too high I would have a concern. And I think the (players') union would join me in that concern. But short of that I don't think we'll be seeking to regulate which cards games our players play. On the other hand we want to make sure if there are illegal card games going on that no one associated with our league play in them. It will be a balancing act."
On gambling increasing globally?
"(The NBA) is far from the largest sport in which betting is done. We're down almost at the bottom. But we all in sports have to be mindful that everything we do, and circumstances out of our control, will be the subject of extreme analysis, particularly that can be affected, impacted or moved by statistical data. That's the wake-up call for all of sports.
"It's clear to me as more and more money is spent on a global scale — and it doesn't seem to be going down. It seems to be going one way up and more legalized than ever before — that the review of data of all types will be institutionalized almost like computer programs. Edges will be looked for. People will have filters."
Do you feel you need to win some fans back?
"We'll win them back. I'm not sure how you would measure the burn. Would it be decreased attendance, decreased ratings, decreased coverage? Every indication is the viewing, attendance, coverage interest and net blogging and the like is up. On a global scale the game between U.S. and China at the Olympics was the most watched game in history. We think our fans are there but they're appropriately demanding and we have to satisfy that demand."
Stern: Recommendations from Pedowitz Report will be implemented
By Mike Baldwin, mbaldwin@opubco.com
http://www.newsok.com/stern-recommendations-from-pedowitz-report-will-be-implemented/article/3306505
Published: October 2, 2008
NBA commissioner David Stern said all recommendations made by Larry Pedowitz in a 133-page report released Thursday will be implemented by the league and many already were implemented during Pedowitz's 14-month investigation. Stern said there are no assurances criminal activity will never be part of the NBA again after it was discovered last year that referee Tim Donaghy bet on games he officiated. But the NBA commissioner said the league will constantly pursue to eliminate potential problems and even hopes coaches and players will refrain from whining about officiating.
Listed below are some of David Stern's comments, hours after Pedowitz's report was released.
On less tolerance on players and coaches criticizing officials:
"I think our players, our coaches and our referees understand that it's time for this family to come together and to focus on the game, to remove what even may be good faith and gamesmanship and whining, which can have a negative impact as an unintended consequence. Instead of me having less tolerance I would like to think the reawakening of our family on the impact such things (like whining) have on the reputation of our game. But I don't want to shrink from the responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen by enforcing our rules."
On whether he's confident the league will avoid future Donaghy-like scandals:
"The only thing I'm confident of is if anything intelligent can be done by a sports league that we'll be in the first rank of rules, limitations, procedures and analysis, that we will be up there with the very best. No one will have a better system than we do, although we'll share our system with everybody so we'll all have as good a system as each other.
"All that said, the idea that criminal activity will exist every place in the world except sports is just something we can't guarantee. But we're going to have the most effective possible system that's ever been devised."
On Donaghy being the only referee found to be involved in illegal activity:
"We found no reason to conclude that the U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI were incorrect in their findings that there was no other criminal activity about game manipulation. Period. There were multiple sets of reviews (other than the Pedowitz report)."
On some team's concerns certain referees were accused of being biased?
"We couldn't establish that in the investigation but we're going to be mindful of the concern. Through the transparency, and (hiring) Major General (Ronald) Johnson (to oversee referee operations), it will help us a lot in dealing with our teams and ultimately our fans. We feel good about our ability to tell the story and respond to teams' concerns and very much chip away at issues that are raised because fans feel their team got a raw deal on a particular call or a particular game."
On the economy being down turn possibly affecting the NBA this season:
"We except to see some softness in the composition of our ticket make-up. We don't know that attendance will be down. Based on early results there will be a lower component of season tickets and a higher component of partial season tickets, groups and day of game. But clearly as business gets affected by the slow down, then spending will get affected both personally and by business.
"Sports can't, I don't believe, be apart from that reality. The only thing that probably will increase will be television viewing as a low-priced alternative to spending money going to the movies, going out to eat or going to an event... But our network arrangements are strong. Our team's local arrangements are strong in respects to TV and sponsorhships."
On implementing all of the Pedowitz report's recommendations:
"We will implement all of them and will be advising our board of governors at our meeting on Oct. 22. Many recommendations were pushing before we started last season, given the immediacy of having to play a season. Right after the Donaghy plea, we said, 'Tell us what you're thinking about that might affect this issues.' Publishing the schedule of referee crews we did that this past season. We said, 'Don't hold back. As you move along make recommendations to us.' The recommendations have been very solid and we think effective."
On making officials more available to the media to explain rule interpretation:
"Particular referees will be made available on a more consistent basis... We're determined to demystify the process and share with the media, and therefore our fans, the rules, the ins and outs as well as the mistakes that inevitably will be made. It won't be on a game-to-game basis. Our plan is when there are interpretations that come into our question we need to have our referees more accessible."
On the benefits from the Pedowitz report:
"There are very good 12 pages spent describing our referee program. It's not as juicy as some of the other parts of the report but I recommend it to the media as a starting place. I scratch my head and say, 'Why did we have to wait for the Pedowitz report for this to be in writing and distributed.' There is an even more comprehensive description of everything that's done that we owe the public."
On the Pedowitz's concerns that some players are gambling substantial amounts of money on team flights:
"Players in all sports have been playing cards in the back of buses and on planes forever. When the stakes get too high I would have a concern. And I think the (players') union would join me in that concern. But short of that I don't think we'll be seeking to regulate which cards games our players play. On the other hand we want to make sure if there are illegal card games going on that no one associated with our league play in them. It will be a balancing act."
On gambling increasing globally?
"(The NBA) is far from the largest sport in which betting is done. We're down almost at the bottom. But we all in sports have to be mindful that everything we do, and circumstances out of our control, will be the subject of extreme analysis, particularly that can be affected, impacted or moved by statistical data. That's the wake-up call for all of sports.
"It's clear to me as more and more money is spent on a global scale — and it doesn't seem to be going down. It seems to be going one way up and more legalized than ever before — that the review of data of all types will be institutionalized almost like computer programs. Edges will be looked for. People will have filters."
Do you feel you need to win some fans back?
"We'll win them back. I'm not sure how you would measure the burn. Would it be decreased attendance, decreased ratings, decreased coverage? Every indication is the viewing, attendance, coverage interest and net blogging and the like is up. On a global scale the game between U.S. and China at the Olympics was the most watched game in history. We think our fans are there but they're appropriately demanding and we have to satisfy that demand."