Foul: Former referee facing more trouble
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was arrested in Florida earlier this week after threatening a man with a hammer.
Donaghy, who previously spent time in federal prison for betting on games that he officiated, faces a charge of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, according to Manatee
County court records.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by USA Today on Thursday, Donaghy arrived at a Bradenton, Fla., house at around 10:40 p.m. Monday looking for his 19-yearold daughter, who is a friend of the homeowner’s daughter. Donaghy and the homeowner got into an altercation over Donaghy’s daughter using drugs at the house, according to the affidavit.
Donaghy confronted his daughter in the street in front of the house, according to the affidavit, and when the homeowner asked him what was going on, Donaghy replied that “if he came any closer, [Donaghy] was going to hit him with it.”
Donaghy, 50, was booked Tuesday and released on $5,000 bond the same day, according to Manatee County jail records. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 19.
TMZ Sports, which first reported the arrest Wednesday night, said Donaghy’s attorney claims his client did not assault nor threaten anyone, and that Donaghy was “just trying to be a good dad.”
Donaghy was at the forefront of an NBA betting scandal in 2007. As a result of an FBI investigation, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. He was released in Nov. 2009.