NFL, NBA, MLB Compete: Worst Week?
In an unprecedented scenario, it’s hard to say whether those in charge of the nation’s professional football, basketball or major league baseball teams are having the worst week, as they all wrestle with how to respond to alleged misconduct by key figures in their respective leagues.
A basketball referee, Tim Dongahy, is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly tailoring his calls at NBA games to help fix the results and pay off his gambling debts.
One of the NFL’s marquee players, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, is also under federal investigation for allegedly running an illegal dog-fighting operation at his home, as discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.
And San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who is only two home runs away from topping Hank Aaron’s all-time record of 755, is likely to do so—perhaps as soon as this week—without the baseball commissioner among the audience, because of “the steroid suspicions on him like stink,” as a Miami Herald sports columnist describes the situation. Alleged steroid use by professional baseball players also is under federal investigation, as discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.
“America’s Big Three sports have never seen a week like this as each deals with calamity of a very different type,” writes Greg Cote, a columnist for the Miami Herald. “The only commonality is that two words apply: national embarrassment.”
