The following article was originally published on Thursday, June 12 on Sports-Central.org.
The NBA may be fantastic (though that point is entirely debatable), but its officials are not.
In fact, they're quite the opposite.
Headlined by Violet Palmer, Bennett Salvatore, and Joey Crawford, this group of incompetent zebras actually make it easy to believe a scumbag like Tim Donaghy when he says that the NBA is using their officials to help "fix" games.
I don't buy for a second most of what Tim Donaghy says about the NBA. I do not believe officials threw games (except, maybe, for Donaghy himself). I do not believe the NBA targets players or teams in an effort to maximize TV revenue. I do not believe there are officials who give calls and miss calls simply because they're good company men.
I just don't buy it.
As much (or as little) as you think of David Stern, even he couldn't pull off a conspiracy on this level without any word of it leaking out. The sheer number of people who would have to have been involved is staggering. To think that none of them would have written a tell-all book by now, especially in the world we live in today, is naïve bordering on ridiculous.
The problem with the NBA isn't crooked officials, it's bad officials.
Terrible officials.
Insanely awful, unspeakably incompetent officials.
The NBA has a problem. Their officials have been a problem for years. Highlighted by the Lakers-Kings Game Six from 2002, the entire 2007 Heat-Mavs Finals, any game involving LeBron James, and now both Games Two and Three of what was supposed to be the NBA's dream Finals.
The NBA not only refuses to admit there's a problem, but fines anyone under its control who even broaches the subject.
Then, to make matters worse, it does what it did in Game Three, which is just par for the course in David Stern's NBA.
The very day allegations of fixing games arose, the league assigned Joey Crawford to Game Three of the NBA Finals. The same Joey Crawford who famously ejected Tim Duncan for laughing on the Spurs' bench, then challenged him to a fight. Only to find himself suspended indefinitely by the NBA.
As ESPN.com's Jemele Hill wrote:
And that typifies what's wrong with the NBA. This is why some people are willing to entertain Donaghy's wild accusations rather than accepting Stern's firm denials. A referee who was once suspended indefinitely because of a personal beef with Tim Duncan, who had to resign from the NBA because he pled guilty to falsely stating his income, is back in the league and officiating on the NBA's biggest stage.
Then you have Thursday night's crucial Game Four. The NBA, we all assume, would have loved for the Lakers to tie up the series. The longer this goes, after all, the better it is for the NBA.
Conspiracy theorists rejoice, because the NBA didn't disappoint. Two of the three officials they assigned to Thursday night's game were noted "home-friendly" officials. In games officiated by Joe DeRosa and Tom Washington, the home teams carry a stunning .650 winning percentage (104-56).
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6 months ago
I just love the guy with the name Bennett Salvatore—and we don't think he has any mafia connections at all right?
Great Article Sean, loved it! The main complain I've been hearing about the finals is officiating...it'll be interesting to see what happens tonight.
BT
6 months ago
I find it stupid that a foul is just a foul... in the NFL their is different fouls to designate what the refs are calling in the NBA its a foul well... WHAT IS THE FOUL? this is the issue because refs can call anything no one really understands why sometimes....
from 6 months ago
The problem there is that the NFL, since it is a slower sport with measured gains, has more room to dole out penalties based on what takes place on the field. The best the NBA can do is differentiate between a flagrant and a normal foul, but how would you decide what the penalty is for a hand checking foul in relation to a 3 second violation or a loose ball foul? Unless a hard foul is involved, a foul is a foul and that is how it should be. The issue is what Sean touched on, NBA officiating sucks, it's as simple as that. By the way, didn't Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford both officiate game 3?... now that puts chills down my spine.
from 6 months ago
I agree with Sean i was just venting. NBA officiating is ridiculous
6 months ago
I agree. The NBA officiating has been horrible. During several games this playoff season the foul descrepacy has been too great...halftime differences like 19 fouls for the visitors vs 2 for the home team scream incompetance. I don't know if I like the "let them play" position or not, but if every touch foul was called the game would take 5 hours to play.
6 months ago
Get real. The NBA is the most heavily "managed" professional sport ever. Ticky tac early fouls and discretionary calls keep the games fairly tight. Face it. Close games keep people watching the game (and ads) and keep folks in their seats to buy overpriced food and beer. Not many folks like blowouts, especially home teams, so keeping it 'fair and balanced'.....what's the harm, right? They think we're stupid.
And each sport goes through its cycles. After the Jordan era, viewers and attendees declined by over 1/3 which meant huge losses in advertising and seating revenue for the league and stadium owners. And what happened....Rodman....and Sheed getting what 50+ technicals in a season. Likely in an effort to create spectacle to have people return to watching and attending games.
Given, the boys are gifted athletes, but they make their money whether they leave the bench or not. There's just too much incentive to keep the dollars flowing to all the invested parties to allow true competition to occur. You can't ever see the replay of the immediate foul called, or if they show it it's the worst possible angle. And why did even the early playoffs switch to 7 games, and when played almost always go past 5 actual. $$$$ It's the world we live in.
After viewing the NBA for way too many years, it's completely obvious, and it's why many folks prefer to watch college ball. The kids are hungry, and there's not quite so much incentive to 'manage' the sport. They'll be there soon enough. For me, conspiracy theory becomes conspiracy fact when you have years and years of footage as evidence...and start to understand who owns what and their motivation. Donaghy, given his marching orders, knew he could make bank on the improbable odds he would make. We blame him for what he did...why not the league? Given this, who can blame him for whistleblowing? For as long as he's still around before his unfortunate 'accident'... Heck, it's more entertaining to watch Stern parse words, and keep himself from snickering, than to actually watch some of these 'games'.
It's only our own desire to keep the suspension of disbelief alive in order to stay entertained that keeps this sport, and many others, in play.
6 months ago
Get real. The NBA is the most heavily "managed" professional sport ever. Ticky tac early fouls and discretionary calls keep the games fairly tight. Face it. Close games keep people watching the game (and ads) and keep folks in their seats to buy overpriced food and beer. Not many folks like blowouts, especially home teams, so keeping it 'fair and balanced'.....what's the harm, right? They think we're stupid.
And each sport goes through its cycles. After the Jordan era, viewers and attendees declined by over 1/3 which meant huge losses in advertising and seating revenue for the league and stadium owners. And what happened....Rodman....and Sheed getting what 50+ technicals in a season. Likely in an effort to create spectacle to have people return to watching and attending games.
Given, the boys are gifted athletes, but they make their money whether they leave the bench or not. There's just too much incentive to keep the dollars flowing to all the invested parties to allow true competition to occur. You can't ever see the replay of the immediate foul called, or if they show it it's the worst possible angle. And why did even the early playoffs switch to 7 games, and when played almost always go past 5 actual. $$$$ It's the world we live in.
After viewing the NBA for way too many years, it's completely obvious, and it's why many folks prefer to watch college ball. The kids are hungry, and there's not quite so much incentive to 'manage' the sport. They'll be there soon enough. For me, conspiracy theory becomes conspiracy fact when you have years and years of footage as evidence...and start to understand who owns what and their motivation. Donaghy, given his marching orders, knew he could make bank on the improbable odds he would make. We blame him for what he did...why not the league? Given this, who can blame him for whistleblowing? For as long as he's still around before his unfortunate 'accident'... Heck, it's more entertaining to watch Stern parse words, and keep himself from snickering, than to actually watch some of these 'games'.
It's only our own desire to keep the suspension of disbelief alive in order to stay entertained that keeps this sport, and many others, in play.
6 months ago
"Get real. The NBA is the most heavily "managed" professional sport ever. Ticky tac early fouls and discretionary calls keep the games fairly tight. Face it. Close games keep people watching the game"
I understand what you are saying here, and I agree with a lot of what you say , but it's with the inconsistancy that I have a problem. How do you explain the Laker's jumping out to a 24-7 lead in game 4 if the officials are calling early ticky tac fouls to kep the game close? That's my gripe...if you're going to do that, do it in every game. They need to at least be consistant.
6 months ago
What's up with the Violet Palmer reference? You supplied no supporting evidence against an official that is widely viewed as one of the better ones. I understand the Crawford problem. He is over the top. But in the future if you are going to malign someone's name, at least give a reference as to cause. I am an avid viewer of Laker's games and know of no problems with either Palmer or Bennett Salvatore. Please do not assume that your opinions are a general consensus. After all your writing should be informative before opinionated.
from 6 months ago
Good God, Violet Palmer is one of the better ones?? Holy cow...not even her immediate family can't be that blind.
Let's start with Bennett Salvatore. Home teams are 53 - 25 this season when he's on the officiating crew. He was also responsible for the second worst call of the playoffs thus far, the Paul Pierce "blocking while he was on offense" call from game six of the Detroit series. Salvatore has become a running joke in the post season, as he's been so home friendly it's not even worth watching the games he's on.
As for Violet, even the NBA (who thinks all of their referees are golden) doesn't think she's doing a good job. She's set female officials back YEARS with her blatant incompetence. Home teams win at a .620 clip when she's officiating, which is bad enough, but the "eyeball" test shows exactly how bad she is. She calls fouls on every flop, she rewards teams with bailout fouls...she's awful.
Just Google "fire Violet Palmer"...
Also, my apologies if you're related to her (ps. I typed this before I saw your last name)...but man, she's awful. I turn off my TV every time she's officiating a Celtic road game. I understand the need to have a female official, but there HAS to be better ones out there. If there isn't, then just give up on the idea and try again when there is...
That said, she's not as bad as Tom Washington....
6 months ago
My post was about information missing from this article and assuming everyone had the same opinion. Many people don't watch any team but their own unless another game affects their own team's standing. Plus, from what I have read, the problem is with judgment calls. While I am watching game 5 of the finals, I make note of the fact that Paul Pierce held Lamar Odom on the shoulder to keep him from a rebound. No call was made. Was this bad officiating or just a missed call? Tape any game and replay it. You will find many mistakes in an NBA game. I have come to accept this as inevitable and it takes "Joey Crawford" like mistakes for me to really take notice. Oh, and I and many others around the country thinks that Violet is better than most. But in the end, it is only an opinion.
from 6 months ago
I challenge you to find two people other than yourself who think she's one of the better officials. The fact that we're even having this discussion only proves my point about how bad the officiating has been.
That said, if you're watching game five and thinking the Lakers are getting the short end of the stick, you're insane. Kevin Garnett? Have you seen him? Neither have I...13 second on the floor, clean steal, called a foul....three fouls...out for the rest of the half.
Unreal. Dick Bavetta?? How does he get into a game in the Finals after it's been pointed out that a) He's under investigation by the FBI, and b) He's officiated 90% of the controversially officiated games in recent NBA history.
Unbelievable.
from 6 months ago
The officials did the Celtics a favor getting Garnett out of the game on the road he played terrible. They could have done one better and threw Kobe out after the first quarter of the last few, but they probably had problems finding him too. Looking for Kobe to score was like looking for Waldo. Garnett played excellently in game 6, but the 3 road games he played terrible, so picking on him didn't really make a difference in my opinion.
6 months ago
Did they throw those games? Maybe not, although I REALLY have to wonder about the Lakers-Kings. But Stern is responsible for a culture of double-standards based on the prestige of the players. He doesn't have to say "don't call stars for fouls." He need only chastise every borderline call against a star and look the other way every time a star is not called but should have been. He need only look the other way when some lug gets called for fouling a star but didn't, and chastise an official every time they fail to call even a borderline call against some lug "fouling" a star.
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