Jason Whitlock: NBA Playoffs Are The Old White Man's 'Police State'

The referees might, in fact, be taking things too far, and being a little took stringent in the calls of the games in some cases.

But it isn't because they're white and the players are black or foreign.

And, from an editing standpoint, I'm very surprised that the line, "The refs are the freaking enemies," was allowed to remain, maybe as is, what with it being a vernacular for the f-bomb.

 

"I'm not calling NBA officials bigots.. We all have our biases."

Um, pretty sure you just called them bigots.

I don't know. I don't watch the NBA because it just doesn't interest me. But his column seems unnecessarily shrill. And it bothers me when supposedly objective observers want to blame the refs, who are certainly human and fallible.

 

The general point, that the refs are somehow untouchable, is one I agree with and a thought that should've been better developed. The column wandered off track in a few places and distracted from what is a solid criticism.

 

Game officials make mistakes in every sport. Are the NBA's officials that much more of a problem than in other pro leagues? I don't watch the NBA, so I don't know. My guess is Shitlock doesn't know either.

 

Priceless.

 

Ron Artest should have been thrown in fucking jail. He should have been getting out around now.

 

Ask Joey Crawford if he is untouchable. He got banned from the playoffs in 2006, after that dust-up with Tim Duncan.

Also, after he blew a call in the 2008 Spurs-Lakers series, the NBA publicly called him out on it.

There was a similar instance with another ref, Wunderlich, I think, in this year's Dallas-Denver series.

I don't think refs are quite as untouchable as Whitlock seems to think they are.

 

I'm guessing if there were 22 refs for an NFL game, a flag could be thrown on just about every play.
Basketball players are themselves to blame for much of the problem. It's like every single player on each team went to the John McEnroe School for On Court Behavior. They whine about every call, whine about every non call, scream, screech, scowl, thump, contort themselves and congratulate themselves on everything. How many players need to slap the ass of guy at the foul line after every made free throw? Missed Free throw?

Honestly though, I haven't watche dtoo much NBA this season, the Wiz sucked. So for those of you who do watch, why won't they let African Americans ref the games? Why are the refs all middle aged white guys?

 

Yeah, or at least I'd say officiating is causing more problems and confusion in the NBA than other leagues right now.

One difference is, unlike other leagues, the NBA has radically changed and tightened up what get's called in recent years. Some of it has been good (like cracking down on the handchecking defenses), but the league may've overreacted a bit with the new guidelines implemented after the Palace brawl--the new flagrant foul regulations, mandatory suspensions for things like taking one step from the bench, the tighter technical guidelines--they've caused a lot of unintended problems in the playoffs.

And the officials have, quite simply, been calling too much lately. Some of these playoff games have featured a staggering number of free throws, over 80 free throws shot in games that, frankly, weren't all that physical compared to former NBA standards. Something's wrong any time there's that many foul calls, and any game with more than 80 free throws is virtually unwatchable for the fans. We don't have to go back to the physicality of the 90s but, good lord, let em go at it more than that.

Whitlock had a worthwhile column topic here, but he really messed it up with the "white men judging blacks and foreigners" angle.

 

Re: Whitlock: NBA Playoffs Are the Old White Man's 'Police State'

The NBA, the original D_B and Whitlock all intersecting in one place ... named the Center Of Fail.

 

Nothing anyone else can say will improve upon this. Lock it up!

 

I don't think he's far off, though. Those biases he talks about are what's brought forth when many of these refs are making a decision on when to call a flagrant. What used to be regular back and forth smack talk is now the encroaching "hip hop" culture ready to destroy the fabric of the game, and needs to be policed.
MJ can close his eyes and hit a free throw as we all laugh about it while today's player doing something along those lines is an example of someone who represents our troubled society.

Stern has Co. has fostered an enviroment where the need to offset those BS perceptions makes its way onto the court and takes away from the game in the process.