Well we've had 6 responses so far so it's time for me to play devil's advocate.
Is making a few calls to ensure that the final score covers the spread unforgivable....absolutely and he should be fired and if convicted he should go to jail. I guess my only comment is, this guy had a gambling problem, he got mixed up with the wrong people and from what I've read he had no way of paying his huge gambling debts, and with the people he was involved with, it's either pay or your dead, unless you have something that they want, and this guy did, he had a whistle and a pro sport. This guy has an addiction and just like any other addiction it makes people do things that clear thinking individuals would never do. Does it give the NBA a black eye, who knows, if it was an isolated case and there are no more bombshells to be dropped I don't think it does. But if the other shoe drops and more people are involved either players or refs, then the NBA has a HUGE problem. Is "all of professional sports in bad shape" NO
Michael Vick....nothing more need be said, if true, he's GONE.
Barry Bonds...did he take steroids, probably, did it make him stronger, probably, do steroids help your hand eye coordination, not so much, he still had to hit the ball. Is he a lovable guy, not so much, but he will break the record, and in the scheme of all things....so what. In a few years someone will break his record.
Tour de France...please
As long as human beings are involved in sports there will be these kinds of scandals, none of this should really shock anyone. IMHO