Storied Career

Family members dotted the audience April 13 in the Amway Center in Orlando as Bob Delaney stood at center court for his final regular season game as National Basketball Association referee.

However, instead of NBA stars towering over him on either side, Delaney, who was completing his 25-year career in the league, was flanked by four Orlando Magic cheerleaders and NBA Vice President of Referee Operations Ron Johnson. Each held a separate award, commemorating not only Delaney’s storied career on the basketball court but also his work outside of the NBA.

“I was overwhelmed,” Delaney says. “It was an eight-minute ceremony, and all the players were standing there watching. It truly was special.”

But make no mistake: This ceremony wasn’t a retirement party. In fact, Delaney cringes at the word.

“I don’t call it ‘retiring,’” he says immediately. “I’m ‘transitioning.’”

Sure, perhaps it’s just a question of semantics, but Delaney has a point.

Three years ago, outside of his career in the NBA, Delaney published an autobiography, “Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob,” which chronicled his previous career as an undercover agent with the New Jersey State Police. Co-authored by sports journalist Dave Scheiber, the book was named one of USA Today’s Best Books of 2009, and on the coattails of its success, Delaney assumed a new role as a public speaker for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the last three years, Delaney has spoken to veterans in Iraq, at Fort Hood following the Nov. 5, 2009, shootings and many times with Wounded Warriors at Landsthul Hospital, in Germany. His client list as a speaker includes the U.S. Army, Homeland Security, the FBI Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the National Football League and many more.

And this fall, Delaney and co-author Scheiber will release their second book, “Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress.” Soon after, Delaney will launch a national book tour that certainly will keep the frequent flyer miles flowing.

So, if “retiring” implies a cessation of work, then it certainly doesn’t apply to Delaney.

It almost seems like he’s just getting started.

ON THE COURT
After two-and-one-half years undercover as part of the New Jersey State Police’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Project Alpha,” an infiltration into the Bruno and Genovese families, Delaney emerged battered, broken and terrified. The year was 1977 — three years before post-traumatic stress disorder became a diagnosis.

Searching for something — anything — normal, Delaney soon returned to his childhood love: basketball. He was a standout player in high school and eventually returned to the court as a high school referee.

“There was nothing better than basketball in the high school gym,” he says. “That was a positive atmosphere — and a diversion for me. Basketball gave me peace.”

Soon, Delaney was tapped to officiate at the Jersey Shore summer pro league. And during one of those games, an NBA scout found Delaney and offered him a gig for the summer pro league in Los Angeles.
Two years later, in 1987, Delaney signed a contract with the NBA, becoming one of only 32 referees in the league.

His experience in the NBA reads like a basketball fan’s dream. Delaney has shared the court with nearly every basketball star imaginable: Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and many more. He officiated more than 1,700 regular season games, more than 200 playoff games, 10 finals and two All-Star games. His career took him to every NBA city in the nation as well as to Yokohama, Japan, in 1994, and China, in 2010. He received the Gold Whistle Award from the National Association of Sports Officials in 2003 and presented the first leadership training for NBA referee staff in 2001.

However, two of his personal highlights as a referee occurred outside of the NBA. During speaking engagements in Mosul, Iraq, in 2009. and Baghdad in 2010, Delaney donned his full NBA uniform and officiated games among the soldiers.

“Talk about intimidating: Everyone in the crowd had guns at their sides,” Delaney says with a smile.
During the NBA season, Delaney typically spent 36 to 48 hours in a city and was on the road 25 days out of each month. On average, he spent more than 200 days in Marriott hotels each year.

“It does grind on you,” he says of the schedule.

Still, Delaney says he will cherish always his time in the NBA.

“It’s been amazing,” he says. “I’ve been really fortunate, and sometimes I think, ‘What a lucky guy you are.’”

AT THE PODIUM
Earlier this year, Delaney and his wife, Billie, sold their home in the Country Club of Lakewood Ranch and moved into their condo at Lake Vista. They then purchased the unit next door and are in the process of converting it into Delaney’s own sports bar.

Motioning to one of the condo’s blank walls, Delaney reveals just one of the plans he has for his new digs.

“This will be ‘Club 26,’” he says. “I wore No. 26, and we’re doing a uniform exchange with some others who wear that number: Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, NFL official Mark Baltz and more.”
Delaney also has earmarked spots for a putting green, pool table and, of course, plenty of shelf space to display the dozens of awards he has received throughout his career.

In addition to readying the sports bar, Delaney — with the help of Billie, a marathoner — is training for a Ride 2 Recovery bicycle ride to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The eight-day, 500-mile ride will begin at 8:47 a.m., Sept. 11, at Liberty State Park. From there, the riders will pedal to Shanksville, Pa., the site of the United 93 crash and, finally, to the Pentagon Memorial in Washington, D.C.

“Billie is making me ride all over Lakewood Ranch,” he says, laughing. “I’m sore in places I never knew I had.”

Sarasota’s Tempo Cyclery has assisted in outfitting Delaney for the ride, which he will complete with soldiers in the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that assists injured soldiers.

Then, it’s back to speaking engagements and book signings as Delaney continues in his calling to help make sense of PTSD.

“The work I do with PTSD has such a focus, and it is so rewarding,” he says. “There is such a need, and to be able to provide hope for others who are going through it now is an honor.”

Contact Michael Eng at [email protected].

RECOGNITION
At his final regular season NBA game April 13, Bob Delaney received the following awards:

• The President’s Volunteer Service Award, including a personal letter from President Barack Obama
• The Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the U.S. Army presented by Gen. Robert W. Cone
• A letter of commendation from Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, vice chief of staff for the U.S. Army
• A certificate of appreciation Fort Hood Officers Spouses’ Club for ongoing support
• Fort Benning (Ga.) Maneuver Center of Excellence Service Award presented by Gen. Robert B. Brown