No NBA Heartburn Here
I'm just can't get worked up about the current NBA scandal. To review, recently resigned NBA referee Tim Donaghy is being investigated by the FBI for gambling on NBA games. Some of the games he is accused of betting on are games that he officiated. It is not that I approve, or disapprove, of gambling in general. In fact, if Donaghy is guilty of the allegation I would want to see him punished in accordance to the applicable laws.
No, my lack of heartburn over this issue is that I just assume a level of bias in officiating. I know it is not supposed to happen and I believe that the vast, vast majority of officials across the pro sports spectrum are doing the best job they can. But officiating is a human endeavor meaning that honest mistakes will occur. It also means that human emotions will get involved. If Player A has complained to Official B too many times the official is going to have a shorter trigger and is more likely to use his/her power to control the situation. If Player A just has a reputation for trouble making he's going to have a tighter game called against him.
You can see the bias associated with player reputations across sports. I've watched baseball games where one pitcher has a rep for good control and the other has a rep for being wild. Two identical pitches from the different pitchers that are close to the edge of the strike zone will illicit different calls depending on the pitcher's reputation. Superstars in basketball get away with palming the basketball (double dribbling) or taking an extra step on a drive (traveling) than role players or unestablished players.
And basketball may have it the worst! Somewhat recently I read something that said if the referees in a basketball game called the game by the letter of the rule book that every game would be over in about 10 minutes since every player would have fouled out.
Furthermore, no league can 100% police the personal lives of all its employees. Nor would I want them, or any other empolyer, to try. I don't know how many referees the NBA employs. 50? 100? 150? But if 1% or 2% of them are cheating then that's not a bad percentage. And the fact that Donaghy was apparently caught within two seasons of going afoul of the rules isn't all bad either.
I reserve the right to become more upset if the scandal expands to a larger pool of referees but if this is a single bad apple then people need to get over it and move on. If you like the NBA and the way they play the game (or any other pro league for that matter) then Tim Donaghy shouldn't be the end of your fandom.
No, my lack of heartburn over this issue is that I just assume a level of bias in officiating. I know it is not supposed to happen and I believe that the vast, vast majority of officials across the pro sports spectrum are doing the best job they can. But officiating is a human endeavor meaning that honest mistakes will occur. It also means that human emotions will get involved. If Player A has complained to Official B too many times the official is going to have a shorter trigger and is more likely to use his/her power to control the situation. If Player A just has a reputation for trouble making he's going to have a tighter game called against him.
You can see the bias associated with player reputations across sports. I've watched baseball games where one pitcher has a rep for good control and the other has a rep for being wild. Two identical pitches from the different pitchers that are close to the edge of the strike zone will illicit different calls depending on the pitcher's reputation. Superstars in basketball get away with palming the basketball (double dribbling) or taking an extra step on a drive (traveling) than role players or unestablished players.
And basketball may have it the worst! Somewhat recently I read something that said if the referees in a basketball game called the game by the letter of the rule book that every game would be over in about 10 minutes since every player would have fouled out.
Furthermore, no league can 100% police the personal lives of all its employees. Nor would I want them, or any other empolyer, to try. I don't know how many referees the NBA employs. 50? 100? 150? But if 1% or 2% of them are cheating then that's not a bad percentage. And the fact that Donaghy was apparently caught within two seasons of going afoul of the rules isn't all bad either.
I reserve the right to become more upset if the scandal expands to a larger pool of referees but if this is a single bad apple then people need to get over it and move on. If you like the NBA and the way they play the game (or any other pro league for that matter) then Tim Donaghy shouldn't be the end of your fandom.
Labels: Not Baseball
posted by LP Cards Fan at
2:53 PM
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