Donaghy: The memoir genre takes another hit

November 1, 3:04 AMDC Publishing Industry ExaminerWendy Coakley-Thompson

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Disgraced ex-NBA referee-turned-author Tim Donaghy  AP (File)

Random House pulled the plug on a memoir by disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy this past week. ESPN states that concerns over possible liability derailed the book. Random House spokesman Stuart Applebaum put it this way:
 

After a close legal review of the final manuscript of Blowing the Whistle by Tim Donaghy, and our independent evaluation of some of the author's sources and statements, Triumph Books and Random House have decided not to go forward with the book's publication. Our decision is wholly our own and was made without consultation with any outside parties or individuals."  

The last sentence of the statement seems intended to derail the notion that the NBA had threatened litigation if the book was published, something that the NBA has unequivocally denied.

Memoirs have tended to cause controversy when their veracity is called into question. The recent scandal involving James Frey’s partially confabulated memoir A Million Little Pieces still resonates. Margaret B. Jones’ completely fabricated memoir Love and Consequences  did not cause as much of a ripple but was no less egregious.

Beyond the predictable grumblings however, no one, has called Donaghy’s individual claims outright lies. If the assertions made in excerpts of Blowing the Whistle are true, they certainly speak to what Donaghy calls “a culture of fraud in the NBA.” The NBA promises to investigate the allegations made in the book.

Donaghy, in prison for a probation violation, is looking for another publisher for Blowing the Whistle. Absent any taker, he may self-publish the book.