NBA Ref Violet Palmer interview

[ChuckElias]

That's a very nice profile, and "V's" people-skills are clearly evident. My personal feeling is that the following was the best passage of the whole article.

The best referees know that within each black-and-white rule of the game there are a million shades of gray. It's easy to make a call that is technically correct but in the context of the game completely unfair. They are judges rendering a hundred verdicts a night, each after a split-second deliberation, so they must know ahead of time who they're dealing with and what their tendencies are. It requires an ultrasensitive feel for the game's rhythms and personalities, yet the thickest of skins to remain oblivious to inane accusations, whether they come from Riles or Rasheed or Ralph in Section 46.

Aside from "100 verdicts a night" (it's more like 1,000), I think this is dead on the mark.

Just out of curiosity -- OMQ, how much do you pay for the ESPN "Insider" content?

Chuck