We all know that officiating in the NBA is a problem, and we'd even go so far as to say it sucks. D-Wade shot 2,468 free throws in the last 4 games of the 2006 NBA Finals; stars get every call in the book; refs are influenced by crowds much of the time; LeBron shoots 0 free throws on 15 shot attempts in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Detroit's building. The list, really, is endless, and we needn't belabor the details here.
However, the depths of bad officiating have been reset and redefined after last week's news that an NBA referee is the subject of a federal investigation into gambling, inside information, call fixing and organized crime. Tim Donaghy has smeared the reputation of the NBA in such a way as is almost unthinkable, and the news could get worse, as it's not totally clear if Donaghy is alone among officials in this probe. Commissioner Stern and the entire NBA are going to have a major uphill battle to restore faith in the officiating and the league.
We won't bore you (much) with our thoughts, as it's pretty clear this can be construed in no way but a negative one. However, we'd just like to say that this is as bad a scandal as can hit a professional league, in our opinion. Officials hold all the cards, have no "subs" in a game, and are generally sheltered by their leagues from public scrutiny. This brings into sharp relief the fact that these guys have all the "hand" (Seinfeld reference), and that they can be gotten to. Officiating is supposed to be beyond reproach; the one facet of a game that levels the playing field. Teams may not be evenly matched, but at least they will be judged as equals by the people charged with calling the game. If that trust is bruised, well, Stern's gotta pull a rabbit out of his hat on this one.
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