Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who once served prison time for an NBA betting scandal, was arrested by Manatee County police in Florida this week, allegedly wielding a hammer in an incident that led to a felony aggravated assault charge.
County police records, as reported by ESPN and TMZ Sports, indicate that Donaghy, 50, went to a house in Bradenton, Florida, on Tuesday. While there, the reports note, the former ref was looking for his 19-year-old daughter and a friend of hers -- mainly because, as the police report says, Donaghy believed his daughter was doing drugs at this friend's home.
Donaghy then proceeded to find and argue with his daughter in front of the Bradenton house, ESPN reports via the incident's probable cause affidavit, "and when the owner came out to see what was going on, Donaghy allegedly wielded the hammer and told the man if he came any closer he was going to hit him with it."
Donaghy's attorney told TMZ that the ex-ref did not assault anyone or threaten anyone but was rather "just trying to be a good dad."
Donaghy, however, has been charged with aggravated assault. He was released on $5,000 bond, per ESPN, and has an arraignment hearing scheduled for Jan. 19.
An NBA official who refereed nearly 800 games from 1994 to 2007, Donaghy resigned from his position amid a federal investigation into his involvement in a gambling scandal. He was ultimately sentenced to -- and served -- 15 months in prison for sharing inside information regarding referees' tendencies, placing his own bets on games and attempting to control certain point spreads.
