A letter from Ralph Nader and League of Fans to NBA Commissioner David Stern received nationwide attention in June 2002 for raising questions about the impartiality of officiating during Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. Nader and League of Fans demanded that Stern conduct a review to satisfy fans' sense of fairness and to deter future recurrences of such egregious officiating.

According to reports on June 11, 2008, former referee Tim Donaghy -- who has pleaded guilty after being charged in 2007 with conspiring with gamblers -- accused NBA executives and referees of broad misconduct and outright manipulation of game results in a recent court filing.

According to Donaghy, NBA executives directed referees "to manipulate games" in order to "boost ticket sales and television ratings." Donaghy pointed to Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals as one such instance.

Following is the letter from Ralph Nader & League of Fans to Commissioner Stern regarding the egregious officiating in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals.

Field of Schemes

Sonics co-owner: We wanted OKC all along - wait, are you writing this down?
August 14, 2007

"Throw another move threat on the fire: Yesterday, Seattle Sonics minority owner (and billionaire natural gas mogul) Aubrey McClendon told the Oklahoma City Journal Record that he was 'under a self-imposed gag order' regarding operations of the team - then yammered at length about it, including the statement: 'We didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here. We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled.'" . . . | more

By Dave Zirin

Barry Bonds should be basking in the moment. The San Francisco Giants outfielder has just passed Hank Aaron to become the all-time home-run king of Major League Baseball. With 756 home runs, seven most-valuable-player awards and eight gold gloves, he should be trotting into the twilight of his career in a hail of hosannas as the finest ballplayer of his generation. But expect no laurels, parades or calls from President Bush.

By Dave Zirin

Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the last place on earth I would have expected a "structurally deficient bridge" to collapse, but it happened. As sure as the levees broke in New Orleans, the bridge is no more. Now the state of Minnesota is living a nightmare where people I speak with are alternately devastated and furious: two parts tears, one part rage, with the ratio shifting by the hour.

by Dave Zirin

"You can't throw money at the problem." As a former public school teacher in Washington, I heard this cliche from countless bureaucrats. It was code for "Stop whining about ancient textbooks and prehistoric classroom materials, because there is no money." Imagine my shock when the city announced it would be spending more than $500 million on a new baseball stadium. Clearly when it comes to the needs of billionaire sports owners, there always seems to be money available to be thrown.

By Dave Zirin

Dear LeBron:

At the tender age of 22, you have the galactic talent to make us wonder if a mad scientist had Magic and MJ genetically spliced. But talent ain't wisdom. In a recent interview, you said that your goal in sports was to become "the richest man on earth." You also told ESPN, "I'm trying to be a global icon...on the level of Muhammad Ali." These dreams are compatible only if you choose to emulate Ali the icon and not Ali the man.

(League of Fans' Washington Post letter to the editor)

The City's Verizon Center Perk

Washington Post, Letter to the Editor
Monday, March 21, 2007; Page A12

Regarding "Wizards Owner's $50 Million Request Gets Initial Approval" [Metro, April 4]:

If public investment in pressing city needs were to guarantee the District's elected leaders free luxury suites at sports venues, maybe such problems would actually get some attention.

(from the March 29 Domestic Policy Subcommittee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing: "Build It and They Will Come: Do Taxpayer-Financed Sports Stadiums ... Deliver as Promised for America's Cities?")

Witness Testimony:

Mr. Neil deMause, author of Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit

Mr. Frank Rashid, waged an unsuccessful 10-year campaign to save Tigers' Stadium in Detroit.

LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers

Dear Mr. James:

Congratulations on your continued success as one of the NBA’s elite players. Perhaps basketball fans across the world will be able to watch you and the Cavs in the Finals very soon.

As someone who participates in many generous charitable activities, we hope you will be responsive to this appeal.

By Dave Zirin

Bowie Kuhn, baseball's fifth commissioner, passed away last night at the age of 80. I never met the man. In private, he may have made Gandhi look like Ted Nugent. For all we know, he spent weekends warming terminally ill puppies against his sweet perfumed bosom. But when it comes to his 15-year reign as commissioner, from 1969-1984, it is more than appropriate to bury Mr. Kuhn, not praise him. Major League Baseball's website, in their Selig-sanctioned obituary, claims that Bowie Kuhn "presided over the dawn of free agency and the end of the reserve system." [The reserve system bound a player to their team for life.] That's sort of like saying the Czar Nicholas II "presided over" the Russian Revolution.

By Dave Zirin

(Note to Reader: Over the last decade, Jason Whitlock has been one of the most prominent African American sports columnists in the United States. He writes for the Kansas City Star and AOL Sports. For reasons unclear, he often refers to himself as "Big Sexy")

Dear Jason,

I start with long overdue thanks. Thanks for inspiring me to be a sportswriter. Thanks for showing all of us that the sports page could be more than blather and box scores. For that you have my sincere gratitude.

By Dave Zirin

JOHN AMAECHI, to much fanfare, has become the first retired player in the history of the National Basketball Assn. to announce that he's gay. The news came with publication of his book "Man in the Middle," in which Amaechi details his life in the NBA closet. The five-year veteran of three clubs used to be a basketball footnote, more known for his British upbringing and penchant for poetry than anything he did on the court as a center. Now he is part of history, giving human form and voice to the spectral boogeyman of the professional locker room - the gay athlete.

By Dave Zirin

There are those in the world of sports who view ESPN as some sort of diabolical genetic splicing of the Illuminati, George Bush and something scraped from Chris Berman's loofah. (I personally believe that, not unlike the Bush family, ESPN's power, while disturbing, is vastly overestimated.) This view is being reasserted with the news that former NBA player John Amaechi has loudly and proudly let the world know that he is gay.

The NFL has said it has had to inform some churches, theaters, schools, museums, casinos, hotels and other organizations of copyright limits placed on Super Bowl viewing parties. Yet sports bars and other businesses that televise sports as part of their everyday operations are exempt.

The NFL caught the attention of the media and drew nationwide resentment when they sent a letter to an Indianapolis church prior to Super Bowl XLI, demanding the cancellation of the church's party. The ramifications of such an organizational crackdown could be far reaching. Many churches across the country ended their Super Bowl party plans upon hearing the news from Indianapolis.

In his Edge of Sports column, Dave Zirin recognizes the significance of Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears "shattering one of sports' most formidable glass ceilings." For the first time, the head coaches of both teams in the Super Bowl are black.