Stern Stands by Refs

David Stern originally said he believed the illegal gambling actions of former ref Tim Donaghy were isolated. Now that Donaghy has stated he will name names of refs involved in gambling, Stern is taking an approach of letting hisst refs do the talking. Stern gave the media comments regarding the matter while he was watching Team USA in Vegas.

From afp.google.com:

"NBA chief David Stern said the National Basketball Association's internal probe of its officials will look into whether the commissioner's office missed telling signs of an illegal betting scandal.

"I am open to seeing whether I have done a good enough job," NBA commissioner Stern said. "We are going to see whether I have done a good job monitoring this over the years. Whatever we do, this is going to very open."

Speaking at the FIBA America's 2008 Beijing Olympic qualifying tournament in the US gambling capital of Las Vegas, Stern said some referees are reluctant to speak out during the initial phase of the investigation.

"We need to allow our referees to tell us what the facts are," Stern said Thursday prior to the USA and Argentina second round game. "Many don't want to speak out. We are going to find ways to allow referees more ability to respond." Full article here.