Sports Column

Referee scandal isn't a surprise

On Sports

By dwight jaynes

The Portland Tribune, Jul 24, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (20 Reader comments)

In a way, it appears the NBA may be about to get what it deserves. If former referee Tim Donaghy is found to have attempted to alter the outcomes of games he has allegedly bet on, there is no way the league can walk away blameless for the situation.

For days now I’ve been reading stories from all over the country about other referees and many players who have been going back through their memories trying to remember instances where Donaghy may have influenced the outcome of a game. And they can’t really come up with a lot of clear examples.

That’s because finding specific intentional incorrect calls is extremely difficult given that the league has set up a situation where officiating in its games is so discretionary. Even though referee evaluations have become much more intense and complete than ever before, it’s almost impossible to tell a good call from a bad one.

Come on – what’s a foul in the NBA? What’s traveling? What’s illegal defense?

Fouls and violations used to be pretty clear in basketball. Everyone knew them when they saw them. Now, though – from someone who has seen thousands of games in person and on the NBA’s satellite television package – I have no clue a lot of nights how referees are going to interpret the rules.

Body contact in games has gotten to the point where defenders lean all over players. On offense, post players body bump defenders with great force. Yet a guard puts a hand on a dribbler and it’s a foul. Sometimes. Not all the time.

Palming the ball? That’s a turnover. Sometimes – depending on who did it. They’ve gotten more strict about calling traveling. Some games. Sometimes. Some players. Not others. Same with three seconds in the key.

In a tight game all a referee has to do is turn his back on one call, ignore a traveling violation or call a touch foul to influence a game. It’s incredible this kind of Donaghy incident hasn’t happened more often. It would be so easy to get away with it. A ref wouldn’t have to make a blatantly bad call to affect a game; in fact, it’s often the calls they don’t make that influence a game the most.

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