Questions shift to credibility

Suddenly, the occasional bad call doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

NBA referees’ competency has always been criticized. After three high-profile negative stories in the last three months, the questions have shifted to their credibility.

One official was suspended after allegedly challenging an NBA superstar to a fight, and an academic report suggested a bias by referees against players of the opposite race.

Now, most damaging, a referee’s at the center of a potential point-shaving scandal. With the FBI investigating Tim Donaghy for allegedly betting on games that he officiated, confidence in the guys blowing the whistles may never have been lower.

Last year, commissioner David Stern said the NBA had “the best officials, the best-monitored officials, the best-developed officials in all of sports.”

But now it’s their judgment, not their performance, that needs defending.

Stern plans to do just that at a press conference next week. The NBA and the referees’ union want to make sure Donaghy, who referees’ union leader Lamell McMorris confirmed has resigned, is the one taking the heat, not his co-workers.

But Donaghy’s mess isn’t the league’s only trouble involving its officials.

Stern had to suspend Joey Crawford, who had worked more postseason games than any active ref, after Crawford ejected San Antonio’s Tim Duncan from a game in April. Duncan, who was on the bench laughing when hit with his second technical foul, later said Crawford challenged him to a fight.

Then came details from a study done by Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at Penn’s Wharton School, who found white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players.

Still, many officials are highly regarded among players because of their work on the floor. And McMorris expects it to remain that way.

“I think individuals and the public needs to understand that these individuals go out and work hard, they officiate the games to the highest standards and they are men and women of extreme integrity,” McMorris said.