Fascinating excerpts about how NBA refs give players “star treatment” and call games to manipulate outcomes that help the league. I hate basketball, but this is really interesting. I’m sure lots of this isn’t only applicable to the NBA … As a fan of umpteen sports, this is exactly the thing you suspect to happen on rare occasions, but that you want to believe is not prevalent across sports in general. The referees/umpires are supposed to be these wholly objective, unemotional arbiters, applying the rules of the game to the match taking place before them, with no thoughts as to their greater effects or their fairness. To think that they are in some way tainted absolutely destroys the very basis for sport as a whole. Sport is meant to be a competition between teams or individuals on an equal playing field and by the same rules. By leaning towards one or the other, the referees change this. Yes, we can forgive them the odd mistake or human error. But to deliberately influence the outcome of the match? That’s inexcusable.
Reblogged from: tomorrowonlyknows
Originally posted on: No, I Get It
