Referees taking advantage??

[Boyk]

What do people think about Referees these days. Taking advantage of there rights???

like for example, im a laker fan and it was obvious kobe was not fouled on that 3pnt attempt, and the rest of the bad calls in that game were some what hilarious.

It seems that Refs might be getting a little coky, coz they can call a game how they want and yet still recieve no punishment. I mean sometimes it seems obvious that they are calling in a teams favour.

I mean if a player does something wrong he'll get suspended and fined.
Coach same thing even the GM's if they act up. Yet no punishment for refs calling a game terribly.
Do you think that giving Refs Suspensions and Fines etc. would change the way games are played out?

IMO i think refs should recieve some punishment.

I brought this up coz i was watchin ESPN and Tommy Smyth came up on the Auld Onion Bag and said the same thing for soccer.

What do yous think?

[Colin]

They should be punsihed for calling a really bad game. A lot of obviously non-fouls, etc.

[Rens]

The refs are independant, and should be treated that way.

Though, like giving them five lashes with a whip after a bad game would provide for some good entertainment.

[Andrew]

Most definitely. I can see why the league would not want to make a fuss about it - by admitting bad officiating, they would bring the credibility of the referees into question. In my opinion, that's not such a bad idea, and I think the fact the recap of Game 3 of the Lakers/Wolves series made explicit references to the questionable calls that the NBA might be finally realising that.

I sometimes wonder if a referee walked up and punched an NBA player, would the player be suspended for running into the referee's fist? The idea that the referees can do no wrong isn't the right attitude to take. Yes, sometimes they have to make tough calls, and they may do so in front of hostile fans and angry players and coaches. And I'm sure there are regular referee evaluations. But it doesn't prevent bad calls from being made at critical times.

If a coach criticises the officiating, he is automatically fined, no matter how blatant the bad call. It's only fair that referees should be reprimanded by the league after a poor performance. If the NBA wants to preserve its image and the image of referees, it could be done as quietly as possible, no need to turn it into a scandal. Bottom line, the referees have an obligation to ensure the rules of the sport are followed by all players and coaches, without giving preference to either team. If that means punishing referees for their behaviour (eg Steve Javie/Pat Riley incident), then I say so be it.

[Boyk]

also Refs are allowed to insult a player and yet no-one cares.

a player does that he gets a T and maybe a fine.

thats a load of bull!

[Andrew]

That incident with Rasheed Wallace comes to mind. No physical altercation, but Sheed is automatically considered guilty and punished, while the referee (forget who it was now), who apparently had some words to say to Sheed wasn't punished.

[Matthew]

I remember earlier this season Steve Javy (or however you spell his fucking name ) were fined and/or suspended for an altercation with Pat Riley.

[Matthew]

I just watched sportscenter, and what can i say? Did anyone see the Bucks/ Nets game 6 highlights?! Those dumb cunt refs how can they call a foul on desmond mason in that situation. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a bucks fan but im a basketball fan and when refs make biost calls it pisses the fuck out of me. Especially at the end of the 1sy half when The bucks were trying to inbound, Jefferson grabs D. Mason and he trips, forcing a bad inbound pass that Kidd steals and takes it in for a layup.
Its a shame somthing like this happens, becuase the playoffs have been so entertaining but the refs need to call what they see, not what they think is best for the game, becuase they are destroying it.

[bballer22]

well put it this way... im a reff...(im realy am) reffs are always the bad guys in the game, they are the once that stop it... to some it may be seem as a bad call... but for some calls if u go home and watch the tape ull see that it was the right call... im not saying thats the case all the time.. refs do make a bad call... most of the time they predict the call and they blow the whisly but the player changes his mind about the foul... the ref then MUST call the foul on that player coz if he doesnt then ALL his calls would be questioned...
the refs associaltion have to stand up for their refs, they have to help them... and poiting out theor misstakes infront of the camara is just wrong...
if a fan starts criticizing a player his team staght away stands up for him... says something positive or does something.. same goes for a reff...

look at the players.. the make 10 times as much money.. they play every game.. y bother question the call.. how many time has this been done... there is nothing that player can do to change a call... coz if the ref does change it then it will show his weakness and then all player will pick on him. plyers like rasheed, rodman, artest etc they make a reputaion for themselfs, a reff is not wrong if he helps his keep it up, if he hasnt learned the 1st time the refs will keep on calling until he leartn what areaf wants him to do.

what i think they should do is if a ref had a realy bad game, calleda few techs or kicked some1 off then he should get suspended or have a few days off to cols down, so that he does not bring up his anger into the court..
thats what i heard on espn some1 suggested to to for soccer i think it would be good for NBA.

[mp3]

i dont think the refs do that bad of a job , yer they miss a few a make some bad calls but hey thats life.
what i do hate is the refs keeping star players in the game by not calling fouls on them when its clear that they did make the foul.
the worst i saw was some years back with the bulls and jordan, ( it was on this week in the nba on cnn) jordan fouled someone and the foul went to scott burrel who was on lying on the deck at the other end of the court !! it was so stupid

[emadhn15]

i dont know if the refrees should be punished cause they r not making a bad call on purpose,, well if they r, then we just cant know!!!

P.S. - Does anyone know how much do the refrees get paid?

[Andrew]

the worst i saw was some years back with the bulls and jordan, ( it was on this week in the nba on cnn) jordan fouled someone and the foul went to scott burrel who was on lying on the deck at the other end of the court !! it was so stupid

It's probably just my Jordan bias, but the worst calls I usually see are ones where Shaq knocks players to the floor and dunks, and a defensive foul is called. IMHO, many of those plays should be offensive fouls or non calls.

[Boyk]

no they are fouls
most the time is the other players grabbing his arms and he just goes up strong and knocks them down.
hes so strong that it looks like a Offensive foul, but if ya look closely its the defensive players fualt most the time.

[Andrew]

I know that's the case some of the time, but there's plenty of times where Shaq just barges into his opponents and the call goes against them. Like a lot of big men, he also gets away with suspect footwork - I remember watching an NBA Action that Clinton taped late in the season that showed a Shaq highlight, an off-balance reverse layup that somehow managed to bank in. That's fine, except he clearly hopped. He had picked up his dribble, jumped off one foot, landed, then jumped again to lay it in.

It's nothing major, nor something restricted to Shaq. Patrick Ewing got away with extra steps back in the day. I guess it's harder to spot subtle travels by guys like Shaq and Ewing when they're posting up, than it is to spot an extra step by a player such as Michael Jordan, when he's playing on the perimeter or driving to the basket.

[Boyk]

that is true, ive thought to myself that shaq does get away with steps at times.

[Andrew]

Most players do. There's a lot of extra steps, hopping and shuffling that would always be called at the level I played (ie amateur level, local competition, no money, only second-best division in the age group, nothing too special), but seems to be ignored in the NBA. Some of it is more blatant than others and travelling is one of those calls than get pretty petty at times. But a travelling call can be of great significance in a close game.

[air gordon]

refs should be given a break here. they are human and the calls they make are judgement calls. no human is perfect. we, as fans, have the benefit of seeing instant replays and such while the refs can only call it as they see it happen.

it seems like the refs are always hearing some kind of complaint, whether it be by a coach or player, for every damn play. so naturally they are going to snap at times.

It's hard for them to call a honest game when the 'unwritten law' says superstars get the benefit of the calls and to overlook certain styles of play that some players go by (like not calling a foul on a player who has a rep for being a good, physical defender).

but at the same time, i would like to see some kind of grading/point system done on the refs (maybe there is something like this going on now and we just don't know about it. like when that female ref ((violet?)) was fired last year, the league said she had a very poor evaluation). this way, the league can weed out the 'poor' refs, make sure the best ones are doing the marquee matchups & the finals, and have better officiating in general

[Andrew]

Yes, referees are only human and subject to the same imperfections as the rest of us. But so are the players and coaches. If a bad call was responsible for the outcome, it's human nature for a player or coach to comment on it. However, that comment, an indication of a player's or coach's feelings, will earn them a fine. I can understand if it's a profanity-laced tirade, but if it's a simple comment/criticism, then it should go unpunished as human nature.

I'm sure there are referee evaluations, but I don't know how constant or thorough they are. After the Steve Javie/Pat Riley incident, was Javie given another evaluation? Or was Riley the only one whose behaviour was evaluated, and subsequently fined? Not everything can be written off as simply being human nature, especially when the players and coaches are expected to suppress their feelings.

[mp3]

its hard to say that shaq should get called for offensive fouls all the time because his defender get's away with murder, shaq take's a lot of hit's that on anyone else would be a foul.

[bballer22]

well agins i tell u i am a reff... refs call those little violation that dont get called too often in the nba coz they need it to perect their job, every ref has a level, it satrs at C, B, A, 1 2(can be pro) 3(pro), if a ref does not call the little onced when his at a-1 then he will not get upgraded...]
refs in pro have sertain rules they much apply, like, everyone is screming that the charge is too easy to get and that it stoppes the players athletisism form beign shown etc... if the ref would call every little thing then the game would be like a tennis match, backwards and farwards, refs dont know ever move, sometimes players make a move which suprosed the refs, some call it most dont... the refs have a basic picture in their heads of what for eg a travel looks like... so if they see something unkosher they will call it...

and as far as superstars go then everyone wants to be their friend... sometimes they get the call sometimes they dont!!!

its all beigh worked out!