The first two minutes of the documentary “Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul,” now streaming on Netflix, about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy should give viewers plenty of raised eyebrows and cause them to reevaluate their definition of truth.
The bold words come across the screen when the producers ask the NBA for comment on the film: “Tim Donaghy is a convicted felon. … There is no basis now to revisit any of this.”
Then Donaghy, a native Pennsylvanian and 76ers fan, appears on screen and illuminates these words through a voiceover, “I love the game of basketball. Growing up, it’s all I did, all I dreamt of, and all I wanted to be a part of. Man, did I (expletive) my life up.”
Aside from the legal facts of the case, the last sentence in that statement might be the most honest thing said in the entire documentary.
“Operation Flagrant Foul,” which is also the name of the federal investigation into Donaghy and the scheme, dives deep into the 2007 gambling scandal that nearly brought down the NBA, calling its integrity into question. Accusations, innuendo and lies come from a cast of lawyers and characters, including Donaghy’s co-conspirators Tommy Martino and Jimmy Battista, telling a story that many have long ago wanted to forget — especially the NBA. (No one from the league participated in the film).
Even though he wrote a book about the ordeal, 2009’s “Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA,” Donaghy says part of the reason he wanted to do a documentary was to get to the bottom of what was done, as well as the NBA’s culpability and “why it got swept under the rug so quickly.”
“And also because I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there,” Donaghy said to USA TODAY Sports.
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One of those misconceptions is that Donaghy officiated the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, where several calls came into question. (He didn’t, but he did officiate the infamous “Malice in the Palace” brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons.)
“The whole thing about fixing the games. And there were a lot of things in the U.S. Attorney Office that were kind of shady,” Donaghy said….