| 18 December 2008
Part 2 of the Bloguin round-table discussions are up (now called The LeBron James Naismith project). This time, the discussion is on NBA officiating, and how there are different calls for rookies/veterans. My piece is here, and to see the others - head to 3 Shades of Blue.
Where unfair levels of adjudication happen.
The NBA.
The idea of an equal field of play is the basic premise of all sports. Yes, the playing arena itself can provide it's own advantages, the noise and passion of home-town crowds - and the playing surroundings themselves can provide a bit of assistance to someone familiar with their idiosyncrancies, but the presumption surrounding the game itself is one of parity.
So the fact that within the NBA there are basically two sets of rules... possibly even three, is abhorrent. Rookies get called for everything, veterans get away with enormous infractions, and if a player is in the "star class", then they only get whistled for the most egregious of violations.
Given the refereeing scandal that has haunted David Stern over the past year and a half, one would think that this would be something that the NBA Commissioner would be keen to wipe out... but if one thought that, one would be mistaken. Badly so. Doesn't happen in other professional sports, at least not to the same levels as within the NBA. Within the NBA, it's so engrained that it's expected. "Rookie" and "Veteran" calls are a part of every game, and the same can be said with regards to the star treatment that many players receive. And even then, within the constellation that is the National Basketball Association, some stars shine all that much brighter - and thus are more likely to get 'favourable whistles'.
Recently there's been quite a bit of attention given to Kevin Garnett's behavior. Now, it would be out of place to get into a discussion of appropriacy within this article, but there's absolutely no doubt that if a rookie where to do the same, he'd be T'd up... fined... perhaps even suspended if the offending antics were repeated. The furor that would surround such would be deafening.
Sadly, this inequity is possibly so deeply ensconced in the very foundations of the Association that it's beyond repair. And that's a shame.
Where injustice is standard.
The NBA.
Remember, head over to 3 Shades of Blue and check out the other excellent responses in The LeBron James Naismith Project!
