Email back from the NBA regarding officiating

[MBz]

Hmm...  I'm thinking that they get lots of letters like yours, and somebody was nice enough to draft up a form response.  What utter drivel.  The NBA has by far the worst refereeing in the four "major sports".

Probably true, but it is also by far the hardest of the 4 major sports to referee.

I do not envy their position in the slightest.

I do agree that is the hardest to offciate, but the NCAA officials do a much better job then the NBA officials in my opinion.  They take control of the game from the start.  Also, you don't see much star treatment in the college game.  One other good thing is continuation does not exist in college, that's such a bogus call in my opinion. 

[Big Ticket]

Hmm...  I'm thinking that they get lots of letters like yours, and somebody was nice enough to draft up a form response.  What utter drivel.  The NBA has by far the worst refereeing in the four "major sports".

Probably true, but it is also by far the hardest of the 4 major sports to referee.

I do not envy their position in the slightest.

I do agree that is the hardest to offciate, but the NCAA officials do a much better job then the NBA officials in my opinion.  They take control of the game from the start.  Also, you don't see much star treatment in the college game.  One other good thing is continuation does not exist in college, that's such a bogus call in my opinion. 

Maybe... but the NBA is bigger, it's faster, it's full of primadonna's that have never done anything wrong in their mind, it's more above the rim, and the single worst and hardest aspect of the NBA... nearly every player has been conditioned that flopping to get a call is the right thing to do. 

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

Hmm...  I'm thinking that they get lots of letters like yours, and somebody was nice enough to draft up a form response.  What utter drivel.  The NBA has by far the worst refereeing in the four "major sports".

Probably true, but it is also by far the hardest of the 4 major sports to referee.

I do not envy their position in the slightest.

I do agree that is the hardest to offciate, but the NCAA officials do a much better job then the NBA officials in my opinion.  They take control of the game from the start.  Also, you don't see much star treatment in the college game.  One other good thing is continuation does not exist in college, that's such a bogus call in my opinion. 

Maybe... but the NBA is bigger, it's faster, it's full of primadonna's that have never done anything wrong in their mind, it's more above the rim, and the single worst and hardest aspect of the NBA... nearly every player has been conditioned that flopping to get a call is the right thing to do. 

I agree the above the rim aspect is difficult, but I really do think college defenses move faster in tight games, making it more congested and more difficult to call. Plus there is far more emotion in a close college game then there would be in your average NBA game, making refs more susceptible to environmental influence. Flopping is fairly easy to call IMO. The prima donna thing doesn't hold any weight with me either... The player's reaction doesn't mean anything at all after you've called the foul. If it's the right call tell the player to shut up. If he doesn't, T him up. Don't be all buddy buddy with him, be professional and assert yourself to the players while letting them play the game.

[MBz]

College players flop as well, on offense and defense, the NCAA refs just don't call it.  Watch Greg Paulus play, theres not a second he's on the floor he's not flailing his body around trying to get a call.  When watching a college game, I just think you see the officials take over a game more then the NBA officials.  Regardless of the game being faster and more above the rim, they don't take over the game.  NCAA officials control the players a lot better.  Georgetown-Duke earlier in the season, Monroe got T'ed up from the bench, you don't often see that in an NBA game, when you probably should.

[paintitgreen]

Basketball is a very difficult sport to officiate. Some calls can arguably go both ways even after watching a dozen of replays from different camera angles. It's very difficult to find out the correct call in every play, the game is too fluid and fast.

Personally, and considering how quick and physical is the NBA game, I think the refs do a solid job. The games are generally better officiated than in Europe.

It's difficult, but these guys are paid to know the game. It's no more or less difficult than NFL officials deciding whether to throw the flag on one of the 10 penalties committed on every single play. And their sport is just as fast, more physical and covers a larger playing surfact on every given play. It's not fluid, which is an advantage, but there's a hell of a lot more different things going on during a typical play.

And unlike the NBA, the NFL's officials aren't full time employees, and the league hasn't been caught with its referees, even if it's only one of them, in a gambling and game-fixing scandal in the past five years.

I understand the NBA can't respond to every single complaint and can't fire officials based on some e-mailers being p---ed off, but they really seem to disregard the extent of their officiating problem, hiding behind the same excuse that the game is so hard to officiate.

[indeedproceed]

I sent in an email following the horrendous officiating job by Bavetta the other night and surprisingly got a response back. In my email I expressed the frustration with Bavetta trying to be the star of the show, making calls against Rookies to prove a point, etc. I thought you guys would like to read their response:



Thank you for contacting the National Basketball Association with your concerns regarding officiating.  The NBA’s highest priority is to ensure that every game is determined on its merits, thus providing its fans with an honest and truly competitive league.

The NBA has a covenant with its fans.  To preserve their trust, we make every effort possible to ensure that league processes and procedures are as thorough and transparent as possible.  

We take seriously the actions of our officials.  They are the most measured and metricized group of employees in the world.  Our officials are held strictly accountable for their actions and we track every call they make to continually develop their abilities, with the understanding that their mistakes only make them human.  

Thank you again for your concern.  We appreciate your feedback regarding this issue.

Sincerely,

NBA Fan Relations

If they are the most measured and metricized, why won't they let us see these reviews? Its all smoke and mirrors until we see whats actually going on.

[RAcker]

They're so full of crap.   

[guava_wrench]

Basketball is a very difficult sport to officiate. Some calls can arguably go both ways even after watching a dozen of replays from different camera angles. It's very difficult to find out the correct call in every play, the game is too fluid and fast.

The caliber of March Madness officiating is FAR better then what you see on a nightly basis in the NBA. That to me is a tougher game to officiate... There is far more emotion in those buildings and in my opinion the game moves just as fast and the defenses in particular may move faster then the 1 on 5 NBA game. There is nowhere near enough of a difference in game speed or degree of difficulty to justify the horrendous officiating in the NBA compared with a strong D-I conference contest or NCAA tournament game.

The refs are either corrupt or wildly incompentent beyond all belief. Either way, the NBA does not care and does not do anywhere near enough to ensure the integrity of the game.

Your opinion about the speed of college versus the NBA is wrong. College players constantly talk about how much faster the NBA game is. The college game is slow.

College players are also not as wise and experienced as pros. Pros know better how to make things hard on the refs. It takes years of experience to get away with what Rip Hamilton or Ron Artest get away with.

College refs aren't any better anyway. Players just aren't as obnoxious about calls.