By Sally Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer

NEW YORK, July 24 — National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern fought to restore public confidence in his league at a news conference Tuesday, asserting his belief that a referee under federal investigation for gambling and a link to organized crime was a “rogue, isolated criminal.” But the normally self-assured commissioner was grim in tone and appearance as he acknowledged that the NBA is facing “the most serious and the worst situation” in his 23 years as head of the league.

“My reaction is, I can’t believe it’s happening to us,” Stern said.

Tim Donaghy, a veteran referee of 13 years, resigned July 9 under investigation by the FBI for allegedly placing bets on NBA games, including some he officiated, and for providing inside information to others for profit over the last two seasons, Stern said. According to a source close to the investigation, the FBI’s Organized Crime Squad is particularly examining whether Donaghy influenced the outcome of games in which he was involved.

No referee or umpire has ever been indicted for fixing games in the history of the four major American professional leagues. The crisis faced by the NBA is perhaps comparable only to that faced by Major League Baseball in 1919, when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series, or by the German soccer federation in 2005, when a referee was found to have match-fixed at the behest of a Croatian gambling ring .

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