Study: NBA Refs are racist

I'll wait to see the data but this paper is going to be peer-reviewed before it's published in a statistical journal. I suspect someone on the panel will inquire as to your questions, BBAM.

 

I want to see an undercover investigation and I know just the man to do it ...

 

Good to see Alan Schwarz making his mark on the NYT already with mind-numbingly boring statistical bullshit.

News flash: Majority of NBA players are black. Majority of NBA officials are white. Majority of fouls are called by white officials on black players.
No fucking shit!

 

Exactly. This is friggin' amazing. And ESPN has this as one of it's top stories. Are you kidding me?
Oh dear god, please don't let Sharpton stumble upon this.

 

Wonder how long it will take Scoop to bite on this one?

 

I heard recently that the league is 10% white.

 

Sharpton is calling for reparations. Black palyers shoot one-and-one on every non shooting foul and are allowed 7 personals. White players are allowed 5 personals and can only attempt a free throw after they've been fouled 4 times.

 

And if you're jewish, you can only play with one shoe.

 

The thing that got me is that the guys doing the research didn't know who called the fouls. So, they're looking at a three-person officiating crew which has two white officials and assigning 66% of the fouls called in that game to the white refs.

Now, it might've worked out that way or they might've called more than 66% of the fouls in that game. But you don't KNOW that. And you sure as hell can't get an accurate gauge on how many fouls the black officials are calling.

Also, they looked at similar players (and assume that means they looked at guys playing similar minutes at the same position). But you can't just look at that. The determining factor, to me, would be looking at similar players against similar competition. Who you're guarding has far more to do with the number of fouls you'll pick up.

This whole damn thing is flawed.

 

The article makes the point that the study controlled for such factors as who was the home team and the away team, that centers tend to be called for more fouls, the dreaded NBA star treatment, and other factors. However, they did not adjust for the craziness of Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest, and the human foul magnet that is Danny Fortson.

At most, the study found a 4.5 percent differential, meaning a team of all black players might win two fewer games over the course of an 82-game season. (Perhaps the authors have the Indiana Pacers working to create an all-white control group.) So while there might be subtle bias, current black players are not exactly getting the treatment of Indianapolis Crispus Attucks High circa 1953. It's too bad there were no past studies, though hopefully there are future studies -- it will be interesting to see how the trendlines develop over time.

The story also notes the study was not peer-reviewed, which means there still is the possibility it gets shot down by other economists. Which is probably why the authors are peddling it now.

 

We have a winner.

A three person crew, at least one of which was white, called more fouls on black players than on white players. Shocking!

Here's another nugget to chew on. Minutes played. Does Rasheed Wallace get more fouls called on him than Brian Scalabrini because he's black, or because he's on the floor?

 

Throw in 8% other and I have a error margin of +/- 2%.