Game-rigging scandal threatens KBL postseason

By Kim Tong-hyung

Kang Dong-hee

Basketball great Kang Dong-hee’s suspected involvement in manipulating games has thrown the Korean Basketball League (KBL) into chaos and the possible outcome includes a canceled postseason.

Prosecutors in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, are seeking an arrest warrant for Kang, 47, currently the head coach of KBL’s Wonju Dongbu Promy and widely considered the best point guard Korea has ever produced. Kang, who was questioned by investigators for 12 hours until around 2 a.m. Friday, continues to deny the game-rigging accusations.

Hours after he returned home, front office officials of the 10-team KBL gathered for an emergency meeting at its southern Seoul headquarters to discuss contingency measures. Representatives from several teams confirmed that the option of canceling the postseason was on the table.

Dongbu Promy is currently in playoff contention, competing with Busan-based KT for the sixth and final spot. While Kang has never been openly accused of game rigging before, KT head coach Jeon Chang-jin recently accused him of ''tanking’’ ― or losing games on purpose ― to seek a better position for next season’s rookie draft.

All four of Korea’s major professional sports leagues ― baseball, football, basketball and volleyball ― have been rocked by game rigging in recent years. The scandals started in 2006 when all-star forward Yang Kyung-min, also from the Dongbu Promy, was caught betting on his own games.

In what now appears a blatant act of complacency, the KBL allowed Yang to return for the playoffs that year after suspending him through the regular season.

Should prosecutors prove the suspicions against Kang as true ― and they continue to express confidence they can ― many teams believe the league has to show a stronger determination to root out game rigging this time around.

``Let’s face it: the debate over Dongbu Promy’s tanking has already tainted this season, even before the game-rigging scandal exploded. The fans are now faced with a crisis of trust about the integrity of the game. The playoffs, which should be seen as a festival, have no chance of becoming that this season,’’ said an executive from one of the companies with KBL franchises.

Speaking to reporters after the emergency meeting, KBL Commissioner Han Sun-kyo, also a lawmaker of the governing Saenuri Party, was more diplomatic.

``For now, we plan to continue operating the league normally,’’ Han said.

``The truth isn’t out yet. Prosecutors listened to two fixers and questioned Kang based on their stories. It will take more time. For now, Kang still has our trust.’’

If the allegations against Kang are found to be true, however, he will be slapped with a lifetime ban, Han said.

Prosecutors have so far arrested two fixers ― one a longtime acquaintance of Kang and the other a former baseball player ― on charges of paying Kang 40 million won to manipulate four games during the 2010-2011 season.

After Dongbu Promy secured a playoff spot that season, Kang rested his starters frequently for the rest of the regular season and gave the minutes to his secondary players, which was responsible for the team taking on some extra losses along the way.

Kang had a memorable career as a player, leading the Kia Motors dynasty in the old corporate league, which preceded the KBL. Kang was also named the league MVP in the KBL’s first season in 1997, and won the league’s assists title four different times before retiring in 2004.