Ralph to the Rescue

[Rapier]

Nader urges NBA to review officiating

Chronicle Staff Report Wednesday, June 5, 2002


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Consumer advocate Ralph Nader and the League of Fans, a sports-industry watchdog, sent a letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern on Tuesday urging a review of the officiating in the aftermath of the "notorious" refereeing in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals between the Kings and the Lakers in L.A.

"At a time when the public's confidence is shaken by headlines reporting the breach of trust by corporate utives, it is important, during the public's relaxation time, for there to be maintained a sense of impartiality and professionalism in commercial sports performances," the letter said. "That sense was severely broken . . . during Game 6."

The Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter and scored 16 of their final 18 points at the foul line in a 106-102 victory. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's elbow to Mike Bibby's nose that was not called a foul with less than 20 seconds left "prompted many fans to start wondering about what was motivating these officials," the letter said. "Unless the NBA orders a review of this game's officiating, perceptions and suspicions, however presently absent any evidence, will abound," the letter continued.

"Your problem in addressing the pivotal Game 6 situation is that you have too much power. Where else can decision-makers (the referees) escape all responsibility to admit serious and egregious error and have their bosses (you) fine those wronged (the players and coaches) who dare to speak out critically? . . . A review that satisfies the fans' sense of fairness and deters future recurrences would be a salutary contribution to the public trust that the NBA badly needs."

[Rapier]

LA Intimidates REFS Again

Crucial non-calls kept Shaq and Kobe in the game. Marginal calls against Divac kept him on the bench for 1/3 of the game.

At one point Shaq slammed into Divac knocking him to the floor. The ref explained to Divac that Shaq stopped going in his direction after hitting him.


A first half non-call of third foul on a key player keeps that player from going to the bench.


Had Shaq been properly tagged with one those "non-calls" in the first half of game 2 last year against the Sixers, they might have rode a 2-0 lead to the championship.

[LawyerRon]

I'm a Laker fan and that was probably the worst officiating I've ever seen--for both sides. The Laker's would have won Game 5 but for a blown call when a Ref said Robert Horrey knocked the ball out of bounds with about 5 seconds left and the Lakers up by 1 point. Replays clearly showed Chris Webber knocked the ball out of bounds. Result: Kings inbound the ball and Bibby hits a great shot to win the game. The Kings don't talk about that game, do they? They only cry about game 6 where the Lakers shot twenty something more free throws.

Bottom line is the teams were very evenly the matched but the Kings choked down the stretch. They clanked free throw after free throw and missed several 3-point shots at the end that could have pulled them ahead. They had many leads but couldn't hold 'em.

Yeah, the officiating stunk, but it stunk for both sides. Further, it's unfair to blame the Lakers for lousy officiating.

Having said all that, Game 7 was probably the best basketball game I've ever seen.

[Rapier]

I don't expect you to understand the subtlety of Divac getting fouled out by bad calls and Shaq and Kobe staying in with no calls. Divac may have played 1 quarter when he wasn't in foul trouble.

[Mr N8]

I agree with Ron. You can't blame the Lakers for the officiating. Whether or not Divac was in, the Kings blew a lot of opportunies for themselves. With Shaq and Kobe out, the Lakers hurt, but they're still a good team. I'm a Bucks fan, so my judgement here is impartial, since I road the insane spiral from top to bottom in the last month of the season. Anyway, the kings did what the Bucks did. They just didn't bring all they had, and they paid for it. Whether or not the officiating stunk, you blame the whole thing on that. You don't know what would have happened if they had called the last foul.

[LawyerRon]

The only thing more disturbing than the officiating was that squirrel Marv Albert wears on his head.

[Mr N8]

ROFL! And they think nobody knows...

[Rapier]

Marv Albert? Wasn't he the first known "Rabid Sportscaster?"