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Referee's question not sign of conspiracy but diligence
By David DuPree, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES OK, conspiracy theorists, here's the explanation.
Phil Jackson questions referee Eddie F. Rush, who caused controversy when he asked scorers about Shaquille O'Neal's foul status.
By Kevork Djansezian, AP
When referee Eddie F. Rush asked the official scorer how many fouls Shaquille O'Neal had on him during the fourth quarter of the Western Conference finals, it wasn't to make sure O'Neal wouldn't foul out, as some cynics might think, it was because there was a discrepancy between what the announcer said and what was on the scoreboard.
"He (Rush) was doing what he was supposed to do," said Stu Jackson, the NBA's senior vice president of basketball operations.
What happened, according to Jackson: O'Neal fouled Kevin Garnett as Garnett scored, cutting the Lakers' lead to 73-72 with 8:59 left in the game. The public address announcer announced that it was O'Neal's fourth foul, yet when Rush looked up at the scoreboard, it said it was his fifth. Rush went over to the scorer's table and asked how many fouls there actually were on O'Neal to clear up the discrepancy.
"Anytime there is a discrepancy, it's procedure for the referee to make sure that all information is correct," said Jackson, who attended the game.
"They're checking all of the time for discrepancies. They would do the same thing with team fouls and timeouts to make sure there are no discrepancies."
ESPN's Brent Musberger, who was doing the radio broadcast of the game, overheard Rush asking the question, and apparently not knowing the circumstances, raised the issue on the air with analyst Tim Legler as to why Rush needed to know how many fouls O'Neal had during the game. Legler called it "unusual" and said that referees shouldn't be concerned how many fouls a player has.
It became fodder Wednesday for radio sports talk shows, raising the conspiracy debate. Hue Hollins, a former NBA referee, said on the Dan Patrick Show that referees gather when a star player has five fouls to ensure the sixth is a sure foul and not a ticky-tack foul.
Doc Rivers, ESPN analyst and new coach of the Boston Celtics, dismissed the conspiracy theory, even though he hadn't heard Jackson's explanation of what happened when asked whether Rush's actions were out of the ordinary.
"It's unusual that you ask the question, but I don't think there's a conspiracy at all," Rivers said. "If it were, Lakers fans would say it was against them, at least last night. If I were the opposing coach, it wouldn't bother me at all. If I were the opposing coach and I thought Shaq got calls, it would give me something else to complain about.
"But I still, at the end of the day, would know nothing was going on," Rivers continued. "I know the officials. Like players and coaches, they have good days and bad days. But none of them are corrupt."
Contributing: Roscoe Nance
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