LeBron James is not afraid to share his thoughts using social media. One thing he shared today is that he attempted to watch the Netflix documentary “Untold” Operation Flagrant Foul. It was about the gambling scandal involving NBA ref Tim Donaghy in 2007.
James did not make it deep into the film that discusses a time in the NBA during his early career. James came into the league in 2003, the story of Donaghy started in 2005 and went to 2007. The 2007 season was the first season that the young LeBron James took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for the first time.
“I’m gone to be honest 20 minutes into it, I just had to stop watching” – LeBron James
James did not identify a particular reason why he stopped watching the documentary. One thing he did state is that he would probably finish watching the film after he retires.
“I probably won’t finish it until I retire. Can’t have my mind feeling a way!” – James
It isn’t abnormal that James doesn’t want to watch anymore of the film when he has to play an NBA game. The NBA is a league that definitely has some questionable calls from time to time. No player wants to question how many of those questionable officiating calls are because something is wrong with the referee.
Operations Flagrant Foul
Netflix has produced a few recent sports documentaries and “Operation Flagrant Foul”, takes a hard look at the 2007 gambling scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghy. The film takes the audience through Donaghy’s life and how he became an NBA official.
The film examines how Donaghy got involved in gambling in NBA games. He shared inside information with associates, and they bet on games. At some point, Donaghy began to bet on the games he was officiating. This was one of the biggest scandals in sports history.
The film talks about how Donaghy shared information about the referees officiating games and how their biases can influence the outcome of NBA games. The documentary does not make any direct accusations against any of the other officials, it does make the viewer question whether or not some of the games they have watched have been tampered with.
The NBA escaped the Donaghy controversy without causing too much damage to the league. The scandal had the potential to bring down the sport entirely. At the end of it all, the league put it all on Donaghy as a single official who acted alone and that is the best narrative for the NBA.
.