Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was released from jail in Florida on Wednesday after serving nearly all of a 15-month sentence in a gambling scandal.
Donaghy had been in the Hernando County Jail since August after violating his probation while staying at a halfway house near Tampa. He was sentenced to 15 months in July 2008 after pleading guilty to consipracy to engage in wire fraud.
Donaghy, 42, admitted to taking thousands of dollars from a professional gambler for tips on games, including some he officated. The 2007 revelation was one of the biggest black eyes in the sport's history.
The disgraced Donaghy claimed the NBA assigned and instructed certain referees to work specific important games. The league hired an independent investigator who determined those claims were unfounded and that Donaghy acted alone, then revamped the heirarchy and many procedures among its referees.
While in prison, Donaghy wrote a book titled "Blowing The Whistle" in which he claims referees made wagers among themselves on games they worked and favored superstars. He also accused the league of wanting to extend playoff series.
The book does not have a publisher. Last week, Random House backed out of a prospective deal