Yes! I am aware of NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s proposed book,
Blowing the Whistle: Exposing the Culture of Fraud in the NBA, and of much hullaballoo surrounding it. I have no comment on the book’s contents, however, simply because I have only seen the
leaked excerpts first posted at deadspin.com. Importantly, however, I do have a few words for the conspiracy-minded out there who find it inconceivable a publisher would: sign a contract for a book, presumably pay an advance, design a cover, offer pre-release sales online, ONLY THEN to conduct “a close legal review of the final manuscript” and an “independent evaluation of some of the author's sources and statements” ultimately dumping the project because of "concerns over potential liability.". I am sorry to say I can quite easily believe this is what occurred (i.e., without interference or pressure from an outside party such as the NBA). Speak with authors, editors, and publishers and you’ll be shocked at how frequently dubious material gets through the process without ever being properly vetted. Perhaps the NBA threatened legal action (
as Donaghy's spokesperson Pat Berdan insists, despite the protestations of the league), but there is no evidence whatsoever to support such a conclusion and, if anything, there is a history of other “non-fiction” works suffering similar fates because of better-late-than-never vetting. Here is a some coverage re:
Blowing the Whistle:
Philadelphia Inquirer 10/30/09
Fox Sports 10/29/09
USA Today 10/29/09
ESPN 10/29/09
