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Study: NBA Refs are racist

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by ifilus, May 2, 2007.

  1. Chuck~Taylor

    Chuck~Taylor Active Member

    Another good point.
     
  2. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Read story again and went through corresponding pdf file. Both story and survey leave a lot to be desired.

    Data from survey comes from box scores. There is no way to tell from the box score which ref of team made the call
     
  3. RokSki

    RokSki New Member

    Yeah, I'm hearing more grumblings about the study as well. I haven't had the opportunity to re-read the article yet, however
     
  4. Tom Petty

    Tom Petty Guest

    give someone a call. they can help you out with the big words.
     
  5. Tommy_Dreamer

    Tommy_Dreamer Well-Known Member

    Don't worry, it'll change it's mind later.
     
  6. bomani jones

    bomani jones Member

    Not quite. The study plainly states that it doesn't think animus is the cause of the phenomenon it describes. This is a look at the implicit bias that might happen when people are forced to make split-second decisions. It's not saying that white referees have it out for black players. It does say, however, that white referees might be quicker on the trigger when black players are involved, and that's probably unconscious. After all, refs are charged with keeping "control" of games. And anyone that doesn't think things can get a little tricky when control and race are in the same sphere is either naive or a damn fool.

    The authors tie this into the broader literature on taste-based discrimination (a concept that helped Gary Becker get a Nobel Prize), the notion that familiarity affects the way people interact. That isn't the spooky sort of discrimination that means that the discriminator is probably a bad person. Instead, it's a look at how people are wired and the things they do when aren't even thinking about it.

    That kind of stuff is fascinating to me. The findings aren't absolute, but they're surely compelling, plausible, and worthy of at least cursory consideration. Dismissing the study totally because it was done using box scores is just lazy.
     
  7. Idaho

    Idaho Active Member

    So, when Dick Bavetta calls a foul on Josh Howard when he fouls Baron Davis, which black player is he subconsciously trying to control.
     
  8. Big Buckin' agate_monkey

    Big Buckin' agate_monkey Active Member

    And since we're only looking at boxscores, how do we know Dick made the call?
    This study is unworthy of a thread on SportsJournalists.com.
     
  9. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    Justin Wolfers, Assistant Professor of Business and Public Policy
    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
    1456 Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, 3620 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104
    c: (267) 432-4372 w: (215) 898-3013 f: (215) 898-7635 h: (215) 873-0679
    e: jwolfers@wharton.upenn.edu web: http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/jwolfers


    [​IMG]
    Justin is currently out of the office: I'm giving a talk at Brown University on
    Wednesday, and will be back in the office on Thursday morning. Please expect a
    some delay in any response to your email. Urgent queries should try my (new)
    cellphone: +1 (267) 432-4372.

    If this is a press or other inquiry regarding my research on NBA referees,
    please be in touch with Tracy Simon in the Wharton Communications office, on
    (215) 898-2863, or (215) 898-4159 (tlsimon@wharton.upenn.edu). Copies of the
    paper, plus an executive summary, are also available on my webpage.

    ======================================
     
  10. Ashy Larry

    Ashy Larry Active Member

    Don't certain positions (Center) tend to foul and get fouled more? There are too many variables to take the results of this study seriously.

    I like Stephen A. Smiths column on the subject.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/columnists/20070503_Stephen_A__Smith____Biased_refs__Lets_discuss_something_serious_instead.html
     
  11. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    I actually liked the column, too. Doesn't happen every day with Stephen A.
     
  12. Ashy Larry

    Ashy Larry Active Member

    I wouldn't know Oz....I don't read much of Stephen A., but he's spot on with this effort. A couple of Ivy Leaguers trying to create a controversy where none is and I'm quite happy with how quickly this story died down.
     
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