Disgraced NBA Referee Tim Donaghy Claims He Joined a White Supremacy Gang in Prison to Avoid Getting Killed

Donaghy still talks to at least one of the leaders of the gang.

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Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghysat down with New York Magazine recently to talk about what his life has been like since he got caught up in a major sports gambling scandal. And we learned two things from the subsequent New York profile: One, Donaghy seems to be making a lot of money these days thanks to his close ties to gambling (just don't tell the IRS…or his ex-wife), and two, Donaghy may or may not be a pathological liar who doesn't tell the truth about anything.

With that in mind, take this next tidbit with a grain of salt. In the New York piece, Donaghy claimed that he joined a white supremacy gang when he went to jail for his role in the gambling scandal. He told New York he did it because he ratted a few guys out for gambling behind bars (how ironic!) and said it was the only way he could keep himself safe. He also just did an interview with TMZ Sports and revealed that, at times, he feared for his life and implied that he probably would have gotten killed in prison if not for the group.

"I was a target," he said. "There was a guy who took a paint roller extension pole and blasted me in the knee a few times. I had to have surgery to relieve the pain when I got out of prison."

Donaghy also told TMZ Sports that he almost had to get a white power tattoo but was able to talk his way out of it. Instead, he simply shaved his head.

"It was a matter of me surviving and getting the fuck outta there," he said, before crediting a guy named "St. Pete" with helping keep him safe. "Thank God I teamed up with him. He saved my life. There's no doubt about it. I never would've survived if it weren't for St. Pete."

Again, Donaghy seems to enjoy telling stories, so this could be one big lie. New York also spoke with Donaghy's ex-wife for their story, and she essentially told them not to believe a single work that Donaghy said. But either way, it doesn't sound like Donaghy's prison sentence was very much fun, does it?

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[via TMZ Sports]

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