May 03, 2007 @ 11:18 am

VIBE Sports Smackdown

Our commentators on the study that says NBA refs call race-based fouls.

A recent study suggests that during 13 seasons from 1991 to 2004, white referees in the National Basketball Association called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against their white counterparts. What do you think? Below, sports fans from the VIBE staff discuss the findings and this New York Times article, which first reported on the study. This is not going to be pretty. Chris Yuscavage: Wow! Tough call to make. Guess the numbers don't lie. But at the same time, seems like there's 100 factors that go into making a call -- everything from familiarity between ref and player (certain players get away with everything, others get T's for practically nothing), to the fact that the NBA is predominantly black - a fact that sorta gets thrown in here, but only briefly. Keith Murphy: Come on dog, that's the whole point that's being glossed over. When damn-near 80 percent of the league is black, it's a given. Plus, it's a fact that when you are a player like the Miami Heat's Jason Kapono (a white forward) and you are just shooting jumpers on the perimeter and playing help defense as opposed to playing a more one-on-one physical style (like the San Antonio Spurs' Bruce Bowen), then you are less likely to get fouls called against you. Rob Kenner: Hey Murph, are you trying to say white ballers are soft? Like Bill Lambeer (former Detroit Pistons center and the dirtiest player ever to step on the court) and Kurt Rambis (Los Angeles Lakers' hustle man who used his six fouls very well) can't mix it up in the paint?! lol… Murph: Lol….Nah. I'm saying those cats (Lambeer and Rambis) are an aberration and very old school. And they are also specialist players, unlike someone like say Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns point guard [and two-time MVP; but don't give him another one, dammit], who rarely gets called for fouls because his game is not as physical. Nash doesn't go for contact, like say, Golden State Warriors' guard Baron Davis. I believe a black player who fit this mode was Magic Johnson. He had a very non-contact game. Played a lot of help defense and rarely fouled out. Alex Gale: The VIBE Cracka-Ass-Cracka Association [Alex is white btw] deeply resents Mr. Murphy's implication that white men can't jump. Picket outside of his cubicle at 6 p.m. Murph: Hey, at least you have San Antonio Spurs [and past NBA Slam Dunk champion] Brent Barry and New York Knicks' David Lee. Sean Fennessey: I don't know nothing about any Association, Gale, but I know that Kapono and Bowen are pure specialists out on the floor do one thing. I'm more interested in seeing the foul rates of the 30 or 40 of the biggest NBA superstars, considering their race, and then seeing the numbers. Then again, the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki [leading MVP candidate who needs to step up his game before he finds himself going fishing] and Nash would probably be the only white boys on that list, so maybe that's a bad idea. Kenner: Come to think of it, Lambeer and Rambis were from the '80s. I wonder - are there any white bruisers left in the league? Murph: There are a few, but they are becoming an endangered species. David Lee, Luke Walton… and of course foreign white players like Nowitzki. And I wouldn't even call all of those cats "bruisers." Chris: Ha! Come on, man. [Chicago Bulls point guard] Kurt Heinrich can't get any love? But seriously, agreed on the 30 to 40 biggest superstars. The thing with the NY Times article is that I'd like to know a little bit more about how they dealt with the fact that most of the today's NBA is made up of black players, especially the top tier of players. Do they just mention it in the study or did they work around it? And with that said, there's a ton of players - Shaquille O' Neal (though some might disagree these days), Kobe, Dwyane Wade - who seem to get preferential treatment from refs. Fouls in any sport are always objective. I don't envy referees at any level of sports. Anthony Clarke: I definitely agree that their findings are misleading. Non-black aggressive defenders such as Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz) and Heinrich have always been known to get into foul trouble because of their in-your-face defense. It all boils down to how tough and smart you play defense, and the ref using his/her judgment on whether you are playing right. Kobe Bryant is a tough defender and knows how to play with five fouls without getting fouled out. Murph: Yeah, but Kobe is a star. He ain't fouling out. Chris: Also, one thing about the refs in the NBA is that they're critiqued to the point that I don't think I'd ever want that gig, no matter how much it paid. They basically get evaluated after every game and have to answer to every call they made. Murph: So it's agreed, that this is an interesting, but somewhat misleading study. And yeah, Kurt Heinrich deserves his props for playing for my hometown Chicago Bulls, even if he went to Kansas.

Article tags: VIBE, Sports, Smackdown 

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