Report: Knicks Shaved Points During 1981-1982 Season As Favor To Drug Dealer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It doesn't get any uglier than this.
In "Larceny Games: Sports Gambling, Game Fixing and the FBI," a new book written by Brian Tuohy, there are allegations that Knicks players fixed games during the 1981-1982 season.
The book cites FBI documents.
"Coked-up Knicks players fixed games as a favor to their drug dealer," wrote the New York Post, "who bet big bucks against the anemic New York squad, FBI informants claimed during the 1981-82 season."
New York finished in last place in the Atlantic Division that season, going 33-49 -- 30 games behind the first-place Celtics.
No names are mentioned in the FBI documents.
Micheal Ray Richardson, a four-time All-Star for the Knicks whose battle with drugs was well-documented, vehemently denied the allegation that the team shaved points.
"Hell no!" Richardson, who was selected fourth overall in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Knicks, told the New York Post. "We never did anything like that."
Alex Bradley, another member of that squad, also denied any such wrongdoing. He did, however, tell the newspaper that the team didn't always give its best effort.
"At times coach (Red Holzman) was a little lax, and he didn't put enough pressure on those guys (to play harder)," Bradley told the New York Post. "At certain times, when we needed to turn it up, it just wasn't there."
According to the newspaper, it's alleged that a drug dealer put up $10,000 on games that the Knicks threw that season. But the FBI was never able to prove that the team shaved points. The investigation lasted until 1986 before the FBI decided to drop it, a spokeswoman told the New York Post.
The Knicks declined comment to the newspaper.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
