Bennett Salvatore

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Bennett Salvatore (born January 9, 1950 in Stamford, Connecticut)[1] is a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] As of the 2006-07 NBA season, Salvatore has officiated 1,385 regular season, 167 playoff, and 20 NBA Finals games.[1] He became notable during the 2006 NBA Finals for controversial calls in the series between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.[2]

Contents

[edit] Personal

[edit] Early life

Salvatore was a two sport athlete in high school, playing baseball and football.[1] He earned All-American and All-State honors as a quarterback in 1967.[1]

[edit] Owner

Salvatore is the principal owner of Bennett's, a steakhouse in Stamford, Connecticut.[3]

[edit] Relatives

Savltore's nephew, Brad Salvatore, was a standout right tackle at Duquesne University. [4] His nephew found his way to Duquesne after transferring from Fairfield University. His nephew is said to be a "shoe-in" for the 2011 class of the Duquesne University Athletic Hall of Fame. He would join the great John Rosato who recently was enshrined to the Hall of Fame this past fall(2008). Upon graduating from Duquesne University, Brad took up a job with Madison Square Garden(it is rumored that he had a direct line to Isaiah Thomas' office). With this said, it should be noted that neither of these two men, Brad Salvatore and Isaiah Thomas, have positions in the organization to this day.

[edit] NBA career

[edit] 2006 NBA Finals

Salvatore was criticized by ESPN sports journalist Bill Simmons following his role in Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals.[2] Towards the end of the game in overtime, Miami's Dwyane Wade drove to the basket and was fouled by the Mavericks.[2] ABC Sports, the television network covering the NBA Finals, could not display a conclusive replay supporting the call by Salvatore.[2] As a result of the foul, Wade was awarded two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining.[5] The free throws were successful and contributed to the Heat victory, 101-100.[5] Nearly a year and a half later, in an interview with Henry Abbott of ESPN, Salvatore defended his call by producing previously unseen video showing that the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki pushed Wade in the back, which was a personal foul.[6] Before this sequence occurred, the video also shows Wade pushing Dallas guard Jason Terry to the ground.[6] Salvatore responds that Terry's momentum forces him to the ground.[6]

[edit] Income tax fraud

In 2000, he was sentenced to a year of probation, 150 hours of community service and a fine of $500 for his role in airline ticket fraud. He plead guilty in a New Haven federal court on July 26, 2000 to filing a false tax return with the Internal Revenue Service for the tax year 1993.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bennett Salvatore #15. National Basketball Referees Association (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  2. ^ a b c d Simmons, Bill. "State of the NBA Finals", ESPN. Retrieved on 2008-05-12. 
  3. ^ When Steak Is What the Party Wants, March 31, 2006
  4. ^ duquesne athletic website
  5. ^ a b "Cuban fined $250K for actions after Game 5", ESPN, 2006-06-21. Retrieved on 2008-05-13. 
  6. ^ a b c Abbott, Henry (2007-11-20). The Salvatore Side of the Story: "Crucified" in the 2006 Finals. ESPN. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  7. ^ PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; REF SENTENCED, October 17, 2000
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