Letter to the editor re: NBA officiating article and my response

[Mark Padgett]

This letter to the editor appeared in today's Oregonian newspaper:

Letter: Incompetence in sports officiating is rampant
by The Oregonian
Sunday June 07, 2009, 6:00 AM

As usual, Rachel Bachman focused on an important issue in her story on the study of NBA officiating (Study calls foul on NBA officials, June 4).

The study itself provides little beyond the obvious point that home teams get some more favorable calls. Needed are studies of concrete examples of important calls that have affected the outcome of games, series, and championships. Few TV announcers and analysts dare question the competence or honesty of officials lest they offend executives and administrators who control their jobs. An occasional columnist like Bill Simmons sometimes mentions incompetence.

I have long maintained that game officials "manipulate" the results of games in various ways -- phantom tags in MLB, ignoring fouls by star players and calling the slightest brush by a rookie or lesser light in the NBA, or by "homer" replay officials in college football.

There does not have to be a "conspiracy" with a commissioner directly telling officials to affect the outcome. Referees in the NBA know the league loves match-ups of star players. Therefore stars almost never foul out. They also can see which teams have higher TV audiences. At the college level, officials know their conference benefits from having more teams in bowl and tournament games. Lower ranked teams almost never have a chance to win late season basketball or football games. Officials who "play the game" can have long careers, many well past their point of competence -- if they ever had one.

In my opinion, at all levels of sports officiating incompetence is rampant -- corruption most likely.

Joe F. Decker
Florence

Here is the letter I sent the paper in response. We'll see if they print it:

Joe Decker, in his letter that appeared in your Sunday sports section, made some very damning accusations aimed at all sports officials. He uses an NBA study (which already has been dismissed by the international officiating community for gross errors in logic) to conclude "...at all levels of sports officiating incompetence is rampant - corruption most likely". This statement is ludicrous.

I have been a basketball official for over 20 years and one of my volunteer activities is to train high school students and other young people to referee kids recreational basketball. The first thing they learn is that there are only two people in the entire gym who don't care who wins the game - themselves and their officiating partner. Does Mr. Decker (who, I'm sure, has never officiated any sport) really think rec leagues and high school game winners are decided ahead of time by the officials? That's just plain nuts. He also states, while referencing college conference games, that "Lower ranked teams almost never have a chance to win late-season basketball or football games." Maybe - just maybe - that's because those teams are not as good as the higher ranked teams and the higher ranked teams have more motivation - the playoffs. That's why whenever the lower ranked team actually does win, it's called an "upset". DUH!

I'd like to put some stripes on Mr. Decker and have him officiate a game. He'd then realize how difficult it really is and how important it is to maintain ones objectivity. Or then again, maybe not.


Mark Padgett
Tigard

[grunewar]

Go get em Mark!

Originally Posted by grunewar

Go get em Mark!

Seconded!

[Mark Padgett]

Got an email from the asst. sports editor at the paper asking permission to run my letter. I said OK. It will probably appear later this week. Although they have a daily letters page, they have a special column in the sports section twice a week to run sports related letters.

If it appears, I'll post a link. We'll see if they edited it. Hope not.

[Adam]

My guess is that Mr. Decker buys into all sorts of conspiracy theories.

[DonInKansas]

Padgett's going to be published.

*braces for armageddon*

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

If it appears, I'll post a link. We'll see if they edited it. Hope not.

If they edit it are you going to "T em" and "Toss em" as only you can?

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by DonInKansas

Padgett's going to be published.

Actually, I get "published" every once in a while, which shows you how small a town Portland really is.

Seriously, I know quite a few reporters, both print and electronic, as I've been involved in civic, youth sports, school and political activities in this area for over 35 years. It's not that unusual for me to receive a call asking my "take" on a particular issue, usually for "background".

I'm not stating this to be bragging, only to say that if you take the time to get involved, people then take your opinions into consideration when reviewing issues and you gain credibility.

Two years ago, I asked a reporter friend of mine to run a story on the need for volunteers for our local kids rec league. He ran it, and ten parents showed up at our next meeting to volunteer. It was a big help. I also got three TV stations and all three local newspapers to cover a fund raiser for a local G.I. who is stationed in Iraq. They covered it not only because of the story value, but because they knew I had credibility and the event was legitimate.

Again, anyone can achieve this level of credibility if they get involved in their community. I would encourage all of you to do the same.

OK, I'll get down off my soapbox now.

[Chess Ref]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

My guess is that Mr. Decker buys into all sorts of conspiracy theories.

I have a family member I can hook you up with for some , ahem, tales.

The theorys get better after about 5 beers.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Chess Ref

I have a family member I can hook you up with for some , ahem, tales.

The theorys get better after about 5 beers.

Yeah, I've heard some of those tales from colleagues in my Guard unit. It's like listening to Art Bell.

[Chess Ref]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Yeah, I've heard some of those tales from colleagues in my Guard unit. It's like listening to Art Bell.

I spent many a night driving from Norcal to Vegas and back. I would always listen to Coast to Coast.

I,at one time, owned land in the kingdom of Nye.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Chess Ref

I spent many a night driving from Norcal to Vegas and back. I would always listen to Coast to Coast.

I,at one time, owned land in the kingdom of Nye.

Worked graveyard shift for a security company for a short time in 97. Art got me through the nights.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Actually, I get "published" every once in a while, which shows you how small a town Portland really is.

Seriously, I know quite a few reporters, both print and electronic, as I've been involved in civic, youth sports, school and political activities in this area for over 35 years. It's not that unusual for me to receive a call asking my "take" on a particular issue, usually for "background".

I'm not stating this to be bragging, only to say that if you take the time to get involved, people then take your opinions into consideration when reviewing issues and you gain credibility.

Two years ago, I asked a reporter friend of mine to run a story on the need for volunteers for our local kids rec league. He ran it, and ten parents showed up at our next meeting to volunteer. It was a big help. I also got three TV stations and all three local newspapers to cover a fund raiser for a local G.I. who is stationed in Iraq. They covered it not only because of the story value, but because they knew I had credibility and the event was legitimate.

Again, anyone can achieve this level of credibility if they get involved in their community. I would encourage all of you to do the same.

OK, I'll get down off my soapbox now.

Agreed. I have a good relationship with several writers at our local newspaper. They routinely do articles on officiating and local officials. The HS Preps sportwriter contacts me at the end of football and basketball season when putting together the paper's all-region teams and asks about deserving players that I may have seen that he's not familiar with. He'll call me with rule questions whenever he comes across something unusual. But he would never put me in a controversial situation by quoting me about an officiating screwup or something like that or publish anything I might say. It's been very positive.

Sports writers are alot like officials. They don't get a lot of cooperation from coaches. You'd be amazed at the coaches who don't send in stats or game reports or who don't nominate their kids for recognition.

[Amesman]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Sports writers are alot like officials. They don't get a lot of cooperation from coaches. You'd be amazed at the coaches who don't send in stats or game reports or who don't nominate their kids for recognition.

You've got that absolutely right. Have several close family members who have been sports writers. They're only doing a good job when they're writing something good about the reader's team. Sound familiar? And while they're not running up and down the court in front of a several hundred or thousand fans, they're still working a game, trying to stay somewhat separated from fans, and a lot of their real work starts only after the final horn and everybody else gets to go home.

You have to know who you're talking with, and how trustworthy they are (broadcasters can be some of the worst with their smash-and-grab process), but these (re: BBRef and Mark's posts) are some good reasons why officials should not outright shun members of the media.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Amesman

You have to know who you're talking with, and how trustworthy they are (broadcasters can be some of the worst with their smash-and-grab process), but these (re: BBRef and Mark's posts) are some good reasons why officials should not outright shun members of the media.

I always have a good understanding of where broadcasters are coming from since I used to be one. In the late 60s and early 70s I did radio play-by-play for local HS and college basketball plus HS football and baseball at a suburban Chicago station (WKKD in Aurora, now WERV). What's weird is that a rival station in town also did HS basketball and their announcer was Chick Hearn, who became the L.A. Lakers long-time announcer. He was really good even back then.