Stern said some of those policies are about to change.
"I've made the decision not to discipline them, because I think the rule is overly broad," Stern said. "Of course, I take full responsibility for having been responsible for its enactment. I'm the CEO, I think its enforcement lacks something to be desired.
"While we look at our rules completely and come up with a new set of rules, which I think will allow casino gambling at certain times of the year, I've decided to take my medicine and it's not the right thing to do, to slap these guys on the wrist."
Donaghy, a Delaware County native, is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25 in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on two felony charges - conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to transmit gambling information across state lines. He faces up to 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines for providing confidential NBA information to bettors in exchange for kickbacks. He already has forfeited $30,000 in restitution to the government that was required as part of his plea deal, according to court records.
He resigned in July.
In the wake of the Donaghy scandal, Stern brought in former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz in late August to handle an internal review of the referees and the league's policies on gambling. That review included interviews with the entire officiating staff.
Yesterday, Stern stressed that the league is revamping its security investigations to make them deeper and broader and to make sure an array of statistical screenings can be used in the future to possibly detect "signs that something may be amiss."
The commissioner said that sometime this season, the league will hire a full-time referee operations executive.
