Damning look at Tim Donaghy who was an NBA referee sent to prison in a betting scandal. Donaghy wasn't so much fixing games but feeding information to gamblers in return for kick backs. He was also gambling himself, something that most other NBA referees were doing despite being banned by the NBA
This is a wild tale that will leave a bad taste in your mouth because it's clear that the NBA doesn't want the truth to come out. Told from Donaghy's POV the film shows how he went into the NBA for the love of the game, began to gamble, began to feed inside information to gamblers, who then ended up on the radar of the FBI.
While the first where everything is set up, and the final part where the FBI gets involved are really cpmpelling, the middle section on the Donaghy feeding information to his friends is less so. Sure it allows for some good stories,, but mostly it could have been trimmed down. It's not bad just not as interesting as the material that bookends it.
The really interesting part of the film is the final third. The whole FBI investigation part is killer, more so when it becomes likely (though they deny it) that the NBA leaked the existence of the probe in order to save itself. Done as the probe looked to be heading toward the revelation of lots of collusion of referees, the probe came right where they could hang Donaghy out to dry as the lone bad apple and thus save people's opinion of the league.
An aside- I'm not a fan of the NBA. The pretense that the officiating is wholly on the up and up is a joke. I've heard from numerous friends and acquaintances that the league bends the rules for the stars since they are the leagues cash cow. I've also heard from numerous people (unsubstantiated) stories of referees being told exactly how to call games by the league for maximum profit- something I've not heard about any other sport.
OPERATION FLAGRANT FOUL is a troubling film - more so since the NBA is now in bed with legal bookies thanks to on line sport betting. I suspect that Donaghy's tale is going to pale when compared to what the next scandal is going to be.
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