http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/97800.html
Stop Your Whining
NBA players, coaches adjust -- some grudgingly -- to crackdown on complaints to refs
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:14 am PST Sunday, December 24, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
The crackdown started in the exhibition season, as the image-conscious NBA said it would halt the stream of complaints and protesting gestures toward referees, with as many technicals as necessary.
Players and coaches and critics in general, usually one and the same, asserted that league officials were trying to strain natural emotions from the game.
After one full month of the push for on-court civility, the National Basketball Players Association filed charges of unfair labor practices Dec. 1 with the National Labor Relations Board. The union asserted that the policy was implemented without the required consultation, even though Commissioner David Stern had, in fact, stressed an existing rule and not enacted any new guideline.
Meanwhile, player technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct had jumped to 261 from 199 through Dec. 18, compared to the same 361 games last season. That doesn't count the hit of star players embarrassing themselves trying to turn the policy into a constitutional issue of oppression against millionaires, such as Kevin Garnett's assertion in training camp that being prohibited from speaking to referees is comparable to communism and life under Fidel Castro.
Not that anyone was overreacting or anything.
"They are responding well, collectively," Ronnie Nunn, the NBA's director of officials, said of players. "Of course, there are some who are getting to the train late."
Other players had different analogies for the code of conduct that had been underscored at the start of the season. But some coaches and executives privately applauded the move for greater decorum, even if publicly they had to back their guys. Much like Stern, many missed the days when every possession wasn't cause for complaint, and some could even acknowledge that the league's image was taking a beating.
It's just taking some time for everyone else to see it Stern's way.
"We are having a year of extraordinary performances, focus on the game, focus on the young stars, the veterans, the superstars, the international players," Stern said. "There's never been so much. It's been great, and I sort of wish the union would join me in celebrating its membership rather than the contentious nature of the complaint. But this, too, will pass, because on the refereeing side, what we are trying to do is have our players be showcased as the best athletes in the world playing the best game in the world. And we think it's working."
The move for greater scrutiny on behavior came as part of a larger push by the NBA that started with the focus on what players not in uniform wore while on the bench. That great debate faded in time, amid stories of teams simply keeping a few sport coats handy and handing them over to whoever is inactive that night to avoid a fine.
When the emphasis on conduct was enacted this season, referees met with each team during training camp to go over changes, as they always do, and players expressed shock anyway once the technicals started flying. Players quickly translated it into being told to become robotic and bristled under the new restrictions. This being the NBA, the discourse soon turned into a criticism of the perceived class system, in which stars supposedly get the calls and everyone else has to grind along without slack.
"To me," New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott said, "it was a great thing that Mr. Stern said: 'We're not taking any more of this. We have to get this out of our game.' And I agree with it. My only concern is, are you going to treat everybody the same?"
So, will they?
"I just don't see that being done," Scott said. "I don't want to mention superstars' names ... but they get a different treatment. I just think that's the way this league has always been."
Indicating they were learning the new boundaries together, the league reviewed each call as part of the normal postgame procedure and conceded there were some quick techincals in the early weeks of the new season. Those instances were turned into teaching situations and e-mailed to each referee to be reviewed as part of the game-day routine.
"I think we had become more lax about certain players," said Nunn, an NBA ref for 19 seasons before moving into the executive position. " ... I think we were being too tolerant of certain behaviors by (players). We had become too acceptable about unacceptable behaviors."
So Yao Ming got T'd up for shouting after finishing a dunk, even if the exclamation was not directed at anyone -- and was in Chinese. In this new world, the player who slaps his own arm to indicate a missed foul call, once a typical game moment, might be cited for showing up a referee, just as the player who innocently flips the ball against a basket stanchion before throwing the ball in almost will certainly get a technical.
"That's the thing that I don't agree with," Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "You know what a travel call is. You know a foul when you hit the wrist. A technical foul when you're trying to throw emotion into it is very judgmental. What one referee might look at as being over the top, another one might not. That's the thing that becomes very difficult, as far as trying to enforce those types of things.
"As tough as it on the players, the referees have the same situation. They have a problem, too, as far as calling it the way you might want it called. That's tough, too. We want to make a lot of things black and white, and that's a very gray area."
The concept that emotions have been removed from the game likely would be lost on anyone who has entered an arena, but the tempering has been obvious. That has been charted by NBA statistics that show a decrease of player technicals for unsportsmanlike issues, as opposed to rule violations, from the first 180 games of 2006-07 to the next 180. Similarly, players and coaches still fence with referees, as before.
If that interaction is not as pronounced as previous years, as the push for civility appears to take hold, it exists nonetheless. It's just at a lower volume, or at least at a lower volume more often, with some of the combatants having learned long ago the ways to make a point without outwardly challenging an official.
Talking to the refs during a free throw is a common move, whether it's a player on the lane making a point to the official under the basket or another player or coach getting his say with a referee on the perimeter. Handled in calm tones, it greatly reduces the emotion of the moment because most fans are watching the guy shooting free throws.
Some conversations will take place coming out of a timeout, after time has passed from the original ruling and a discussion can go in place of the potential argument that would have existed before. Some will take place as a player is bent over to tie his shoe, giving him the chance to air a complaint with diplomacy.
The tricks of the trade are many. The other night at Arco Arena, Kings coach Eric Musselman shouted to Jason Phillips to question a call as Phillips stood on the other side of midcourt during a free throw. The veteran official held up a finger without turning toward the Sacramento bench, indicating no grievance would be accepted then. But when the free throws were completed, Phillips came back downcourt, and Musselman had his say.
"I wouldn't call them tricks," Nunn said. "I'd call them approaches."
OK. Approaches.
"You can't complain about every little thing, for one," said Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand, regarded as one of the game's good guys. "There's no exact time, there's no exact science, because they might not want to be approached during a timeout. They might not want to be approached right after they've called it. Me as a captain, I can say: 'As a captain, can I say something to you? I think that call (stunk).' They might laugh. They might say, 'I'll look for it next time because you don't complain a lot.'
"Most veterans should learn that. But there's still some that haven't. You see some guys that have been in the league eight years, nine years, 19 years and still getting tossed and techs. You've got to learn to get your point across while being respectful."
Said Scott, who also played 14 seasons in the NBA: "I think most of the veterans probably understand that. They know that they can talk to a ref without showing them up. Halfcourt, during free throws. Or if they're under a basket during a free throw. A timeout or a dead ball. They know when they can talk to them and when they can't. They know they can get away with a certain amount as long as it's what referees would call being professional.
"The proper way is just talking to them. Not raising your voice, not flapping your arms all over the place, not trying to show them up, not trying to draw attention to yourself. All this stuff sort of became an issue five, six, seven years ago. It wasn't an issue in the '80s. It wasn't an issue in the '90s. I think we understood that just like coaches, they (referees) are an authority figure. Whether you like them or not, you respect them. You respect their job, you respect the position that they're put into. It hasn't really come into play until lately."
When it finally did, it hit in a big way, with legal action and a lot of noise as both sides learned on the fly. On the other hand, at least no one's threatening communism anymore, so they might survive each other after all.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard- cooper@sacbee.com.
Stop Your Whining
NBA players, coaches adjust -- some grudgingly -- to crackdown on complaints to refs
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:14 am PST Sunday, December 24, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
The crackdown started in the exhibition season, as the image-conscious NBA said it would halt the stream of complaints and protesting gestures toward referees, with as many technicals as necessary.
Players and coaches and critics in general, usually one and the same, asserted that league officials were trying to strain natural emotions from the game.
After one full month of the push for on-court civility, the National Basketball Players Association filed charges of unfair labor practices Dec. 1 with the National Labor Relations Board. The union asserted that the policy was implemented without the required consultation, even though Commissioner David Stern had, in fact, stressed an existing rule and not enacted any new guideline.
Meanwhile, player technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct had jumped to 261 from 199 through Dec. 18, compared to the same 361 games last season. That doesn't count the hit of star players embarrassing themselves trying to turn the policy into a constitutional issue of oppression against millionaires, such as Kevin Garnett's assertion in training camp that being prohibited from speaking to referees is comparable to communism and life under Fidel Castro.
Not that anyone was overreacting or anything.
"They are responding well, collectively," Ronnie Nunn, the NBA's director of officials, said of players. "Of course, there are some who are getting to the train late."
Other players had different analogies for the code of conduct that had been underscored at the start of the season. But some coaches and executives privately applauded the move for greater decorum, even if publicly they had to back their guys. Much like Stern, many missed the days when every possession wasn't cause for complaint, and some could even acknowledge that the league's image was taking a beating.
It's just taking some time for everyone else to see it Stern's way.
"We are having a year of extraordinary performances, focus on the game, focus on the young stars, the veterans, the superstars, the international players," Stern said. "There's never been so much. It's been great, and I sort of wish the union would join me in celebrating its membership rather than the contentious nature of the complaint. But this, too, will pass, because on the refereeing side, what we are trying to do is have our players be showcased as the best athletes in the world playing the best game in the world. And we think it's working."
The move for greater scrutiny on behavior came as part of a larger push by the NBA that started with the focus on what players not in uniform wore while on the bench. That great debate faded in time, amid stories of teams simply keeping a few sport coats handy and handing them over to whoever is inactive that night to avoid a fine.
When the emphasis on conduct was enacted this season, referees met with each team during training camp to go over changes, as they always do, and players expressed shock anyway once the technicals started flying. Players quickly translated it into being told to become robotic and bristled under the new restrictions. This being the NBA, the discourse soon turned into a criticism of the perceived class system, in which stars supposedly get the calls and everyone else has to grind along without slack.
"To me," New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott said, "it was a great thing that Mr. Stern said: 'We're not taking any more of this. We have to get this out of our game.' And I agree with it. My only concern is, are you going to treat everybody the same?"
So, will they?
"I just don't see that being done," Scott said. "I don't want to mention superstars' names ... but they get a different treatment. I just think that's the way this league has always been."
Indicating they were learning the new boundaries together, the league reviewed each call as part of the normal postgame procedure and conceded there were some quick techincals in the early weeks of the new season. Those instances were turned into teaching situations and e-mailed to each referee to be reviewed as part of the game-day routine.
"I think we had become more lax about certain players," said Nunn, an NBA ref for 19 seasons before moving into the executive position. " ... I think we were being too tolerant of certain behaviors by (players). We had become too acceptable about unacceptable behaviors."
So Yao Ming got T'd up for shouting after finishing a dunk, even if the exclamation was not directed at anyone -- and was in Chinese. In this new world, the player who slaps his own arm to indicate a missed foul call, once a typical game moment, might be cited for showing up a referee, just as the player who innocently flips the ball against a basket stanchion before throwing the ball in almost will certainly get a technical.
"That's the thing that I don't agree with," Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "You know what a travel call is. You know a foul when you hit the wrist. A technical foul when you're trying to throw emotion into it is very judgmental. What one referee might look at as being over the top, another one might not. That's the thing that becomes very difficult, as far as trying to enforce those types of things.
"As tough as it on the players, the referees have the same situation. They have a problem, too, as far as calling it the way you might want it called. That's tough, too. We want to make a lot of things black and white, and that's a very gray area."
The concept that emotions have been removed from the game likely would be lost on anyone who has entered an arena, but the tempering has been obvious. That has been charted by NBA statistics that show a decrease of player technicals for unsportsmanlike issues, as opposed to rule violations, from the first 180 games of 2006-07 to the next 180. Similarly, players and coaches still fence with referees, as before.
If that interaction is not as pronounced as previous years, as the push for civility appears to take hold, it exists nonetheless. It's just at a lower volume, or at least at a lower volume more often, with some of the combatants having learned long ago the ways to make a point without outwardly challenging an official.
Talking to the refs during a free throw is a common move, whether it's a player on the lane making a point to the official under the basket or another player or coach getting his say with a referee on the perimeter. Handled in calm tones, it greatly reduces the emotion of the moment because most fans are watching the guy shooting free throws.
Some conversations will take place coming out of a timeout, after time has passed from the original ruling and a discussion can go in place of the potential argument that would have existed before. Some will take place as a player is bent over to tie his shoe, giving him the chance to air a complaint with diplomacy.
The tricks of the trade are many. The other night at Arco Arena, Kings coach Eric Musselman shouted to Jason Phillips to question a call as Phillips stood on the other side of midcourt during a free throw. The veteran official held up a finger without turning toward the Sacramento bench, indicating no grievance would be accepted then. But when the free throws were completed, Phillips came back downcourt, and Musselman had his say.
"I wouldn't call them tricks," Nunn said. "I'd call them approaches."
OK. Approaches.
"You can't complain about every little thing, for one," said Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand, regarded as one of the game's good guys. "There's no exact time, there's no exact science, because they might not want to be approached during a timeout. They might not want to be approached right after they've called it. Me as a captain, I can say: 'As a captain, can I say something to you? I think that call (stunk).' They might laugh. They might say, 'I'll look for it next time because you don't complain a lot.'
"Most veterans should learn that. But there's still some that haven't. You see some guys that have been in the league eight years, nine years, 19 years and still getting tossed and techs. You've got to learn to get your point across while being respectful."
Said Scott, who also played 14 seasons in the NBA: "I think most of the veterans probably understand that. They know that they can talk to a ref without showing them up. Halfcourt, during free throws. Or if they're under a basket during a free throw. A timeout or a dead ball. They know when they can talk to them and when they can't. They know they can get away with a certain amount as long as it's what referees would call being professional.
"The proper way is just talking to them. Not raising your voice, not flapping your arms all over the place, not trying to show them up, not trying to draw attention to yourself. All this stuff sort of became an issue five, six, seven years ago. It wasn't an issue in the '80s. It wasn't an issue in the '90s. I think we understood that just like coaches, they (referees) are an authority figure. Whether you like them or not, you respect them. You respect their job, you respect the position that they're put into. It hasn't really come into play until lately."
When it finally did, it hit in a big way, with legal action and a lot of noise as both sides learned on the fly. On the other hand, at least no one's threatening communism anymore, so they might survive each other after all.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard- cooper@sacbee.com.
