Leave NBA Referees Alone

NBA referees do a fantastic job of overseeing games and it’s time fans realized this.

During the course of the NBA Playoffs, one issue that has continued to come up constantly is the performances of the officials. This is understandable of course, after all it’s they who can change the course of an entire series with one incorrect call.

It seems that officials doing their jobs poorly is something that comes up every postseason, as fans and media members alike look for a reason to blame the outcome of a particular game or play.

This year saw the noise levels regarding this topic reach new levels, however, and we haven’t even crowned an NBA champion yet.

This is because of the bizarre incident that occurred at the end of the second game of the Western Conference semifinals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

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It doesn’t matter how many times you watch that play, what happened that night still doesn’t make sense. In any event, it sent chatter of referee’s performances into overdrive and it has only continued right the way through May and June.

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Officials find themselves in a tough spot and to make matters worse, they seem to be getting no love from the NBA organization either. But to all the fans who continue to bemoan the fact that they get things wrong, you have to realize, you don’t know how good you have it.

NBA officials are among the best in all of sports at what they do and they’ve also been given the tools to do their job to the best of their ability as well.

They combine the technological advantages of the NFL, the on-the-fly decision making of soccer and command the respect of players that only referees in rugby can equal.

During the course of a game, if a player gives them too much grief, they’re given a technical foul. That’s a luxury referees in other sports could only dream of.

If you take a look here as well, you can truly see the extent of their power of the court and that goes beyond the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.

With great power comes great responsibility, however, and accountability should be held for consistent errors.

Which is why it would make sense (if this system is not already in place, which it does not appear to be) to introduce a promotion/relegation system for referees between the NBA and it’s D-League.

Make too many incorrect calls late in close games that actually matter? Expect to see yourself taken off that upcoming Spurs vs. Toronto Raptors game and officiating the Westchester Knicks playing the Grand Rapids Drive instead.

Similarly, if a referee in the D-League is showing poise and consistency, why not elevate them to officiating NBA games instead? This is a system that is already in place with English soccer, with officials dropping down to oversee lower league games if their performances aren’t up to scratch.

Really though, officiating in the NBA isn’t that big an issue, and finding a balance between calling every foul and letting the game flow is tough.

Add in the element of flopping, not to mention ensuring star players are properly protected and know their place, and it becomes an almost thankless task.

"Perfection is neither possible nor desirable; if every possible infraction were to be called, the game would be unwatchable and would cease to exist as a form of entertainment in this country."

While the above quote cause outrage with many when the National Basketball Referees Association recently hit back, they do have a point. If you follow the letter of the law in any sport, it becomes tedious and tough to watch.

Even more so a game like basketball with timeouts aplenty.

Trusting in officials and giving them the proper equipment really is the best way to ensure an exciting game of basketball takes place and is played out within the rules of the game. Will that lead to human error?

Of course, but given that robotic referees don’t look like making an appearance anytime soon, that fact should accepted by all. Again, it’s not like NBA refs are missing tons of calls, certainly not the biggest ones either.

To once again compare this issue to other sports, goal-line technology, while available for some time now, was only introduced in the English Premier League last season.

Already it has been a big help, but as recently as two years ago, if a goal went in but the officials didn’t see it, it didn’t count. Oh, and what about instances like this too? (That goal was given by the way, and the other team lost that match.)

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At the moment here in Ireland,

this

is a big talking point in the world of sport because a referee incorrectly recorded the score of a cup final wrong, which has led to a replay taking place in two week’s time.

Imagine winning a trophy and celebrating, only to then be told that the official actually got the score wrong and that the final would have to be replayed. Compare that to the work of NBA officials and you really do see how they can’t win, no matter how hard they try.

The final two minute reports that the NBA releases after games makes sense in that in owns up to any mistakes made or calls missed at the time, but it exposes referees horribly.

This is made even worse when you consider the mostly good work they do during a game is not highlighted in the same way.

You may be good at your job, no matter what that is, but if the negative aspects of what you bring to a company are constantly being dragged back up for the sake of a bit of transparency, it must surely be draining.

So we need to realize that officials in the NBA are not only miles ahead of those in other sports, they are also doing a great job as well. They’re not going to catch every single call, and they’ll give a foul against your team that will drive you crazy.

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But they’re doing a better job than you or me, and they’re giving us plenty to talk about this postseason.