In 2007, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was arrested for betting on games he officiated. It was the biggest scandal in American sports history, but it quickly faded from the headlines. Why? Because everyone in this scandal has something to hide. This isn't a story about basketball - it's a story about money, and a conspiracy that spans far beyond one referee. Sports journalist Tim Livingston takes you inside his eight-year odyssey to find the truth at the heart of the scandal. This is Whistleblower.
After years of trying, Tim has finally made contact with the third conspirator in the NBA Betting Scandal: Jimmy "Baba" Battista. The only problem? Jimmy isn't exactly an open book.
Presented ad-free by Underdog Fantasy (Code: WHISTLE). Download the Underdog Fantasy app or sign up at UnderdogFantasy.com
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20 Feb 2023
Bonus 2: Foster Relationships
Tim sits down with Jimmy Battista and Tommy Martino hoping to find out new information about the relationship between referees Tim Donaghy and Scott Foster.
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13 Feb 2023
New Episodes, February 20th!
Tim sits down with the ringleader of the NBA Betting Scandal, Jimmy Battista, to see how deep the fix really goes. Don't miss two new Whistleblower episodes, dropping Monday, 2/20. Sponsored by Underdog Fantasy (Code: WHISTLE). Download the Underdog Fantasy app or sign up at UnderdogFantasy.com
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8 Feb 2023
Jimmy Battista Speaks - E1: The Rogue Ref (Republish)
Two new Whistleblower bonus episodes are coming February 20th, presented ad-free by our friends at Underdog Fantasy. Take a second to go to UnderdogFantasy.com or download the Underdog Fantasy app. Make a deposit using the code WHISTLE and Underdog will match your first deposit up to a hundred dollars.
Re-listen to Episode 1, "The Rogue Ref", and binge all of Season One ad-free, thanks to Underdog Fantasy.
[Republish] Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was caught betting on games that he officiated. It was the biggest scandal in American sports history, but according to Donaghy, he wasn't the one fixing games... it was the NBA. Journalist Tim Livingston sets out to find answers.
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29 Oct 2020
What's Afoul?
After an eight-year journey, Tim finally has answers, but there is more left to be uncovered. The team continues to dig deeper and turns the system inside out, hoping that basketball's future will learn from lessons of its past.
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22 Oct 2020
The Bigger Thing
On the final day of the trip, the crew travels to a diner in Howard Beach, Queens, to meet with Scala, hoping that the former FBI agent will help unravel the mysteries of the NBA Betting Scandal, and the NBA as a whole.
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15 Oct 2020
What Changed?
The crew finally connects with retired FBI agent Phil Scala, the supervisor of the FBI probe into Tim Donaghy and the head of the investigative unit focused on the Gambino crime family. Scala agrees to meet with Tim, but the team, and Donaghy, are skeptical the FBI legend will show.
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8 Oct 2020
The Golden Goose
We learn more about the role the NBA played behind the scenes influencing calls on the court, and about one owner's longtime war against the officials. But when that owner was given the opportunity to expose the system he spent years rebelling against, he backed down. He couldn’t, in the end, risk killing the Golden Goose.
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1 Oct 2020
Fit for a King
After learning about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the leak of the original Donaghy story and Jimmy Battista's plea deal, the crew investigates the most controversial game in NBA history: Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
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24 Sept 2020
The Defense of Tim Donaghy
Tim and the team head up I-95 to New York for a meeting with John Lauro, Donaghy’s defense attorney, and to track down the illusive FBI agents who handled Donaghy's investigation. We learn that someone from high up may have been pulling the strings to undermine the investigation, even going as far to leak the story to the NY Post.
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23 Sept 2020
Overtime: Head Fakes
In our first bonus segment, Sean Patrick Griffin adds another element to the NBA betting scandal — one that involves unregulated, overseas wagers.
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17 Sept 2020
Choose Wisely
Next stop, Philadelphia, specifically Delaware County, where the 2007 NBA betting scandal was hatched. “Delco”, as Delaware County is commonly known, is home to the Sixers, bookmakers, and Philly mobsters. Tim gets a first-hand account of the lifestyle and gambling culture and he must... choose wisely.
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10 Sept 2020
Timmy and Tommy
Two kids from Delco, Tim Donaghy and Tommy Martino. Our interviews continue with our main subjects and we dive deeper into Donaghy’s claims, attempting to separate the truth from the lies.
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3 Sept 2020
Out of Bounds
Host Tim Livingston heads to Florida for his first face-to-face interview with disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy, but it’s Donaghy's co-conspirator, Tommy Martino, who reveals new information about the 13-year-old scandal.
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27 Aug 2020
The Rogue Ref
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was caught betting on games that he officiated. It was the biggest scandal in American sports history, but according to Donaghy, he wasn't the one fixing games... it was the NBA. Journalist Tim Livingston sets out to find answers.
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17 Aug 2020
Official Trailer
“Whistleblower“ tells the story of the biggest scandal in American sports history. But it’s not a story about basketball; it’s a story about money – and how powerful people make problems… disappear. Coming August 27th.
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4.2 / 5
4,218 ratings
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