Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee
1) David, you have no idea how much hard work and study is required daily of NBA officials. They make all of us look like slackers. They are also constantly being second-guessed; every single call that they make is graded. There is simply no comparison between the pro and amateur games.
2) I agree, David. You just keep calling in your partner's area. T'heck with your rules interpreter. What does he know? And btw, good luck in your soccer-officiating career.
|
Point 1 - that's fine, but they're being graded not in how they call all the rules, or we wouldn't have people taking 4 steps in drives to the hoop, with no traveling call - how often do NBA players travel, and how often is it called? I'm sure that would be an interesting statistic. They ignore some things to benefit star players people want to see play, rather than get called for "minor" (and I used the quotes to indicate i don't consider them such) infractions and "minor" contact fouls. I'm sure if they went through the games and picked on things that, by rule, should have been called, they would have a lot of people who would be out of jobs for ignoring many things, by rule - not by "interpreter" or "assignor" or "association" standards.
Point 2 - Now, that is getting rather facitious. I am being serious. I was told, in front of a group of officials, that I should pass on what is the right call in favor of protecting the calling areas. Isn't our primary job, beyond player safety, to preserve the integrity of the game and get the calls right? Or is it to cover for a partner who obviously missed a call (and this was a point I made - in this example, the official missed the call, and had they seen it, probably would have called it... for the sake of the example), and preserve an arbitrary set of mechanics that no one outside of some knowledgable coaches and the officials themselves knows or understands? I'm not saying to do it all the time - i'm saying it shouldn't be an absolute expectation - it should be a guide.