I think it's interesting to note that Earl Strom, in his book "Calling The Shots", was very vocal about the NBA trying to eliminate "personality" from the officials. He blamed it on Darryl Garretson after Darryl became Supervisor of Officials. Strom said the league felt the personalities of some of the officials (read: Strom, Jake O'Donnell and Richie Powers) was a detraction from the players entertainment value. Strom said the league wanted all the officials to be like robots, have identical mechanics and not draw any attention to themselves. Those lower level official that did not conform were not promoted.
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Yom HaShoah
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