NYT: Study of N.B.A. Sees Racial Bias in Calling Fouls

[uolj]

true, but how "significant" is it? hollinger points out (i think some posted his entry upthread) that that "significance" results in a difference of 11 extra fouls (based on race of ref) if you play as many minutes as lebron. in the grand scheme of things...that's not that significant at all.

See post #18 in this thread.

i can agree with that. i still don't think it's all that significant though; small biases according to race are very prevalent in every aspect of life.

I think that's the entire point of the study, and the reason it is interesting. It is people's knee-jerk reactions (and a little bit of juicifying by the media) that are making more out of this than there is.

 

[Jerryaki]

See post #18 in this thread.

haha, touche.

 

[Bricklayer]

Sorry, but that outraged article by a newspaper man is much less sophisticated than the methodology of the study. Mentioned before my own reservations about the study's methodology, but it certainly meets, or atemtps to meet the relatively crude criticisms listed in the article.

Think the larger issue is if just if the very slight differences found are a cause for concern, or almost celebration. If the rest of our society were as close to being color blind as the numbers say the NBA refs are, we'd be much further along than we are today.

 

[kupman]

Sorry, but that outraged article by a newspaper man is much less sophisticated than the methodology of the study. Mentioned before my own reservations about the study's methodology, but it certainly meets, or atemtps to meet the relatively crude criticisms listed in the article.

Agreed....and this is an example of a much larger issue. The media, in general, seems to be incapable of reporting and/or accurately explaining the results of scientific studies. All one has to do is read an article about a scientific study and then go and read the study yourself to find the gross inaccuracies.

It happens all the time and drives me nuts.