Referees Gone Wild!
The NBA has given the refs the power, and they’re flexing it like crazy.
All the talk during the games on TV and in the papers the last few nights has been about the rule adjusments allowing referees to hand out technical fouls to any player that even breathes the wrong way. This isn’t a new rule, it’s just an enforcement of the actual rules. The NBA decided that they’d reached a point where everyone would complain about everything, so the NBA decided to do something about it.
At lunch with the TNT dudes the other day, Charles and Kenny were adamant that this is a good rule change, and that guys complain a ton more now than they did in the ‘80s and ’90s. At the same time, Chuck and Kenny didn’t want the refs to be too tough on the players.
“The refs have got to make an adjustment,” Barkley said. “Things had gotten out of hand, man. Guys were complaining about every single call. They can’t have guys complaining after every single call, but the refs have to be really careful. They can’t be giving out T’s like candy. Players have the right to complain, but not after every call. The refs don’t miss every call.”
No, but they do miss a lot of calls. At that Nets/Raptors game the other night, there was a horrible missed call by Leon Wood that went in favor of the Nets and changed the flow of the game, but nobody was able to complain about it. Mike Bibby was tossed in the closing minutes of the Kings first game, and Carmelo Anthony was ejected from the Nuggets’ first game for throwing his headband off the floor.
I understand the NBA wanting to take more control of the games, but I also didn’t tune into TNT last night in order to see Tom Washington refereeing. I wanted to see Melo and the Nuggets play the Clippers. The NBA is carried by its stars, and perhaps it would be best to give them a little leeway sometimes, no?
(Oddly, the ref who showed the most restraint last night? Steve Javie, who refrained from t’ing up Sam Cassell after Cassell went nuts with under 20 left. And you just know Javie was ready to pull the trigger there.)
Anyway, I did the math: Through the first three days of the season, there have been 17 games played and there have been — get this — 46 technical fouls called. That doesn’t differentiate between illegal defense calls and techs called for general dissent, but it’s still a tremendous amount, nearly three per game.
But should we be surprised by all the quick whistles? Think about how many times over the last ten years that the refs have been screamed at or shouted down and had to sit there quietly. Think about how Jess Kersey felt when he got popped in the mouth with the ball last night. Think about how many times fans have verbally abused the guys in stripes.
Being a referee must be a high-stress job, right? Part of your gig is that a lot of the people in the crowd are going to make fun of you while you work. And now that the refs have been told they don’t have to take it anymore, well, they’re not taking it anymore. The refs have been told, finally, to stand up for themselves.
And we’re seeing the results night after night.
Welcome to the new NBA.
Hope you life watching referees blow whistles.
48 Responses to “Referees Gone Wild!”
Nov.3 at 2:57 am
Robbi says:
yes! finally!! let em know, Lang!its too much.. instead of drawing in new fans, they might be alienating the older ones. its an intense game, played by mostly intense players.. asking them to be intense while playing and cooling off for referees’ calls might be too much.
Nov.3 at 3:01 am
James Chan says:
Poor ‘Sheed… I smell 164 techs for him this year (82×2).
Nov.3 at 3:09 am
kingstuffs says:
yee these reffs nowadays through out
Ts is u breeth 2 hard
there even doin it up heer now in ma
high skool league its rediculus
Nov.3 at 3:35 am
Chris O'Leary says:
What the League should have done was come up with a new version of the T, like the T-lite or something. When a player does something indirectly disrespectful, like throwing their headband on the court, or flailing their arms after a call they don’t like, the ref can give out a T-lite–maybe one free throw and possession?–then get on with things. The T-lite wouldn’t count against the player, just impedes the team’s progress and costs them a possession. When the player (Sheed…or whoever) finally cracks and curses the ref out, they can T them up like they’re supposed to. Or maybe the technical foul could be revised to be like the flagrant, so that if Sheed…or whoever, crosses the line enough, the ref can call a Tech-2 and toss him out with justified cause.
Nov.3 at 5:02 am
German Reignman says:
Chris, you`re right …. and everytime a ref gives a “T-Lite”, the sound of “Groove is in the Heart” will be played in the arenas ….
Nov.3 at 5:05 am
sheed33 says:
I think it’s a good thing for the refs to go get the respect they deserve! Players will adjust (maybe not sheed), coaches will adjust. But they do need a common cause, that players will know where to draw the line. I always have to think of sheed being eliminated of a close game (portland vs. sac town?) for LOOKING a the ref??? It was just so unfair, arbitrary, without any clearcut criteria.
Nov.3 at 5:24 am
simon says:
i agree with chris, i was thinkin of somethin like that while i was reading the article. that way u can still penalise whinning bitches (which does happen a bit too much i think, and makes the players doing it seem, well, like bitches) yet not have such a dramatic and detrimantal effect as ejecting a player from a game for something so harmless (all be it annoying) as reacting poorly to a (occassionaly poor) call…now, what was David Stern’s phone no. again?…
Nov.3 at 5:59 am
Ronald says:
I just love it how everyone, including ex-players (I’m looking at you Chuck) makes it sound like the new gen of players invented complaining. Trust me, complaining even exists at the primary level, its freaking natural to get annoyed at shitty refs. Complaining to refs exists at all levels, and is a normal phenomemon. As much as we have to suck it up that refs are shitty, then the refs should be used to getting complaint at. T should only be handed out if the player gets out of its way to complain. i.e not running back on D to complain to a ref (like Cassel.) If he is getting back on D and just asking “where is the foul” on the way back. The ref should be concentrated on the fastbreak/play than listening to a player abt the previous play.
Nov.3 at 9:33 am
Noah Doucette says:
You guys are lame and suck at making magzines.
Nov.3 at 10:00 am
Ronald says:
Noah, you’re also lame and suck at spelling.
Nov.3 at 10:17 am
Tetet says:
haha… nice one ronald. The players deserve this. Refs get all kinds of garbage from players (and spectators); isn’t it time for some much needed respect? ps.. orlando is unstoppable. tnx.
Nov.3 at 10:59 am
JG says:
Did anyone catch that Andres Nocioni Tech in the Bulls first game? All the guy did was put both his hands in the air, I didn’t see him saying anything, and they T’d him. RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!
Nov.3 at 11:04 am
Lang Whitaker says:
Chris, I think you mean something like a yellow card and then a red card, right? Or two yellows equal a red, etc.
Nov.3 at 11:12 am
Rome says:
Everybody yells at the ref. I yell at the ref even when I’m playing NBA LIVE. I’ve been known to throw stuff, break the game disk in half.
theres nothing worse than the feeling you get when your playing MAdden against someone and you get called for a garbage Pass Interference that costs you the game (especially when the replay proves otherwise). That pisses me off enough, so I can imagine if I’m a pro-athelete and someone other than another player costs me the game. I would basically go completely insane. I would probably have to retire from the NBA out of frustration for the dress code, balls, and refs.
Even in the business world, if someone costs you money or messes up your chance to achieve your goal, because they made a mistake, they get yelled at, plain and simple. I work in tech support, so I get yelled at and cussed out everyday (literally), I cant be a smug lil punk and say “tweet, your outta here!!!” to the customer and hang up. Nope I have to own up and say I made a mistake, or the server went down ect… STERN YOU SUCK!!!!!!! AND SO DOES YOUR LEAGUE!!!
Nov.3 at 11:22 am
Ron says:
Why not make complaining a personal foul and have the player foul out rather than collect technicals? That way the refs can penalize the player, but the player can also better control or limit their emotional outbursts. AI complains after every missed lay-up when there is remote contact. I don’t think he should be ejected for having a bad shooting night-every night in his case- he can collect a personal and the opposing team can shoot a couple freebies and the game can go on.
Nov.3 at 12:20 pm
Shiz says:
I personally like the yellow card theory…These tech’s are getting rediculous and as we saw in the nuggets game, can really change the potential outcome of the game dramatically, especially when your star player (who’s used to having some leeway with ref’s) gets tossed during the third quarter (Melo, Sheed).
Nov.3 at 12:21 pm
RudX says:
That T on Elson yesterday made me feel like something very wrong is going on… just plain misunderstanding here. I guess even that poor Steve Kerr would have been T’ed up if he had expressed the disgust he felt at the ref’s decision. You could tell he wanted too, but just wouldn’t let it go away, man that was embarassing… the League is gonna lose a big pile of points on this one. Stern, it’s time to resign, we don’t want no friggin robots playing the game (outside of Duncan, of course)…
Nov.3 at 12:29 pm
Shiz says:
I understand having a sterner (no pun intended) stance, but instances like the Nocioni tech are just laughable…Hopefully we’ll see a fall to the median soon as ref’s and players adjust to the new power structure. Yeah, the new No Bandanas Allowed! Its fantastic!!…
Nov.3 at 1:22 pm
albie1kenobi says:
remember that chappelle skit “mad real world brooklyn (i don’t remember where exactly)”, the white guy’s dad got stabbed to death because he looked at the girls wrong?
i bet that’s how NBA players feel nowadays. it’s just as ridiculous.
Nov.3 at 2:00 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
By the way, I’m pretty sure Charles Barkley never complained to a ref. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Nov.3 at 2:00 pm
Wiznack says:
Totally agree with Barkley 100%…it’s a game of emotion/passion…ridiculous. Aye, any DWade fans out there? t-mobile’s got this cool sweepstakes for Las Vegas All-Star tix and $25K cash, just saw it here at www.t-mobile.com/nba
Nov.3 at 2:05 pm
Reggie Evans says:
Bottom line is that the refs should be treated with respect, you can argue a call, but don’t denigrate or try to intimidate them. That’s how you get a T for looking, a la Sheed.
Nov.3 at 2:05 pm
Darksaber says:
Please, puhleeze keep a mic on Rasheed at all times during games this season, i’m begging you. That audio will destroy the meaning of unintentional comedy… Ask Simmons, he’ll agree
Nov.3 at 2:16 pm
M.K. Petrik says:
The idea of two types of technical fouls is a great idea. If there’s an NBA Official whose reading these posts, you should seriously consider this option. Just picture a young 10 year old boy going to his first Utah Jazz game (having saved his hard earned money from selling lemonade, cutting the lawn etc etc) and all he ever wanted in life is to see his favourite player, Rafael Araujo play only to see him ejected in the first 6 minutes of the game after receiving his fith personal foul and complaining about it . . . I mean, won’t someone please think of the chidren.
Nov.3 at 2:17 pm
Darksaber says:
By the way Lang, isn’t it FRI-DAY?
Where’s the shout out hombre?
Nov.3 at 2:19 pm
Max Airington says:
Was I the only one who saw Shaq baggin on Kenny? “Watch out for them doo-doo stains…” Classic.
Nov.3 at 2:49 pm
Paniscus says:
I’m confident that once players adjust (ie., stop being such wussy crybabies) that the game will be more enjoyable to watch. Players and coaches capitalize on the fact that refs miss some/a lot of calls so that they can complain about all of/too many of the remaining calls. Having said that, and in the spirit of reaching an acceptable equilibrium, I do have one suggestion: complaining to a ref about the ridiculously preferential star treatment given to the likes of D-Wade et al. shall not warrant the issuance of a technical foul. In seriousness, I don’t see how making red card/yellow card distinctions or t-lites will help the problem because you can still debate whether one of those calls was valid or invalid. My suggestion would be to say that a team may designate one player on the floor at all times as the captain. The captain, and the coach too, should be exempt from the hair trigger complaining rule. The current everyone complains about everything all the time system is getting old. The new rule might go to far, but it does go in the right direction.
Nov.3 at 3:56 pm
How to deal with the “Rasheed Wallace rule” | Detroit Bad Boys says:
[…] Did Rasheed get a raw deal in his first game? Of course he did, and it’s going to be an extremely long season if players are consistently penalized for showing displeasure with a call even when they don’t directly complain to the official. But let’s see how this plays out, because I doubt it’ll be as much of a season-long issue as some of us fans are making it out to be at the moment. Sooner or later a middle ground will be found, with players showing more restraint and officials not analyzing every single post-whistle reaction. (EDIT: At least, there better be: SLAM’s Lang Whitaker has counted 46 technical fouls in the league’s first 17 games!) In the meantime, maybe we need to lower our expectations, with anything more than 30 minutes a night from Wallace considered bonus. […]
Nov.3 at 3:58 pm
albie1kenobi says:
from the world wide follower:
“The thought process is we have the best athletes in the world, playing a spectacular game as well as it has ever been played,” Stern said in October. “In my view it detracts from it, when a small handful of players spend their time negotiating and slowing the game down, at least in the perception of the fans, by engaging in an enterprise which is not productive.”
hmm… yeah, like how they call a technical every 5 minutes to stall the games for free throws?
and fuck the AP press, they make Melo sounded like he was harassing the ref, when he wasn’t even talking to them.
i’m so infuriated about this i thought about boycotting the NBA, even though i JUST got my league pass. ugh.
Nov.3 at 4:19 pm
Gus says:
As with all refs, these guys can adjust if consistency is the key. If Melo’s tossed for throwing a headband at the floor, WTF is Cassell not T’d up for being a complete A$$ when he doesn’t get the call for a pathetic flop. And then they spot him a gimme call a few seconds later? Chuck said it all. Terrible call, terrible call.
Nov.3 at 4:28 pm
KlyMax says:
I’m sure (hope) Sterny will notice the plethera of T’s, and tell his ref’s to cool it down. I hated to see NBA-ers whining like they were soccer players, so I’m down with curbing that trend, but spending an extra ten minutes shooting technical shots isn’t the answer. Once the ref’s make their point, and players show respect, things will be much smoother.
P.S. Mad props to Ray Allen’s mohawk, here’s my vote for Sonics as the All-Hair team!
Nov.3 at 4:50 pm
Rome says:
I’m thinking of boycotting too, I was about to get my league pass, but I dont know now, I dont wanna give the Emperor Stern any more money to ruin my game with.
Nov.3 at 5:41 pm
Waltonia says:
This is a period of adjustment. Once the players learn to just STFU and play, there will be less techs, and the refs will do a better job-imagine if you were working tech support and everytime you did something ‘Sheed was screaming 3 inches from your face? do you think you would be BETTER at your job or WORSE? That being said, some players are exempt for whatever reason-like Duncan who is seriously one of the whiniest biatches in the league-complains after any call not going his way…
Nov.3 at 5:56 pm
Maha10k says:
I’ve watched two Clippers’ games in the last couple nights and Sam Cassell baits other players into cheap fouls and whines when he doesn’t get calls. Not one technical foul for all of his antics. The 2nd Tech on Melo last night was lame. Dude’s walking off the court and tosses his headband toward his bench and gets tossed from the game?? He’s going to the bench to cool off after his fourth foul. What’s the point? That ruins the game for the fans and takes real emotion out of the game. This isn’t a video game. The league schedules all these rivalry games during the first week and then waters down the action by handcuffing emotional players. The refs are running shiz now.
Nov.3 at 6:00 pm
Dwadeformvp says:
Bring the Slam Bowls back please Lang!!!!!
Nov.3 at 6:11 pm
beantownz finest says:
refz r like freakin cops of basketball. just chill nd let da ballerz do dey thing.but for guys like ron nd rasheed(much luv but gotta say dis)den its necessary 2 make those calls
Nov.3 at 6:49 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
Dwade, Sam and I haven’t played Madden in a minute. I got to good for him and scared him off, I think.
Nov.3 at 7:00 pm
diddy says:
NFL = No Fun League, NBA = No Bitchin’ Allowed
Nov.3 at 7:01 pm
Dwadeformvp says:
Well you should take on all the other guys at the office and beat them to.
Nov.3 at 7:04 pm
» High Fi-ve! - SLAM Online says:
[…] Fri-day! Yes! Sorry for the lack of posts today. I had a lunch thing to go to and I had to write the new SLAM newsletter, which is going out for the first time today. (If you haven’t signed up, you can do it right on the homepage.) Anyway, I wrote that referees thing last night to give you guys something to chew on. It’s funny, I watched the Spurs/Mavs and realized the referees were going to be a big topic today, and I was working on the referees thing and looked up to see Carmelo tossed from the game, right as I was in the middle of typing a sentence about Melo having been T-d up earlier. Creepy. […]
Nov.3 at 11:27 pm
Ronald says:
Techs should be handed out to refs. If the audience in unison think the ref botched the call they should throw shit at the ref and the refs get a technical foul.
Nov.4 at 1:51 am
Teddy-the-Bear says:
I mean, the way Lang put it, I can’t stay mad at refs for all those techinicals. Good job Lang. So, I guess I’ll go after David Stern. GET OFF OUR NBA STERNBOT!!!!!!!!
Nov.4 at 11:33 pm
Jeff says:
The refs are going NUTS!!!!! The dress code, ok we eventually shrugged it off. The technicals for showing any sort of emotion in a game, w/e. But the refs don’t have a LOW tolerance policy, they have a ZERO tolerance policy. You can’t even ask them what happened! Stern used to be ok, but now I saw, he’s TOO STERN. GET RID OF HIM!
Nov.5 at 10:40 am
Danny O says:
All these t’s will slow down by the all-star break. The refs just need to show everyone they’re back in control. It’s like the start of a new school year and the teacher has to be mean for the first few months so the students know who’s the boss. This won’t last all season.
Nov.5 at 4:09 pm
albie1kenobi says:
“I was shocked. That’s the one word I can use is shocked,” Anthony said. “I just took my headband off, I was throwing it to my equipment manager and the crowd just got into it. I think he thought that I threw it at him or something like that. But I’m not that stupid.”
as i was watching this unfolded live, i had the same exact reaction. it was tragic.
Nov.5 at 11:54 pm
Ronald says:
Did you realize that the ref didn’t even notice the headband at first? I think someone shouted somethign to the ref.
Nov.6 at 12:54 pm
SeanFitzRef says:
First off, yes being a ref is a high stress job. Yes, we miss some calls. But come on, how many people really have the ‘cojones’ to go out there and take up the profession?? Instead of having the refs assess Ts for complaints, how ’bout we allow the refs to holler at coaches and players for dumb decisions made during the game? “Wow, ‘Melo, you are really screwing the pooch tonight!! Can you even see the rim??” Or, how ’bout “Hey, Skiles, way to put the ball in Duhon’s hands. That REALLY elped your team pull the game out!!” I say: Shut up and PLAY!! When these guys start playing perfect games, then start expecting perfection from refs. If a guy can shoot 50% from the field and be considered a ’star’, Why does everyone expect 100% from the refs?
Dec.1 at 9:24 pm
» LAWSUIT! - SLAM Online says:
[…] (OK, assuming the worst, that you know nothing about anything of this, read this post and this post and then come on back. Done? Let’s move on.) […]