The Western Conference Finals Game 7 was one of the most blatant one-sidedly officiated games in the recent history of the NBA. Scott Foster, who has been known to have connections to Tim Donaghy, a disgraced NBA referee who was banned for fixing games was refereeing the game. Donaghy claims that other referees were fixing games just like he was, but it was brushed off as him being upset about losing his career; however, many people now have reason believe that Scott Foster is one of those refs that Donaghy warned the NBA about.

The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided “picks” to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13.

With sports betting becoming legal nation-wide more people than ever will be relying on NBA referees to make the correct calls, and billions of dollars will be riding on the integirty of the NBA. Scott Foster does not have a place in this modern professional sports world.