How did NBA Refs become part of the show?

Referees in sports are hard working professionals. For most of the time, they are in a no win situation with some calls. In the NBA, referees are making the game more about them and less about the teams playing the game. Many times you will see a ref being totally animated when making a call just to play to the crowd. Two things that bother fans the most are the way refs call playoff series and how they want a bigger role in the game.

While watching the NBA Playoffs in recent years, you can’t help but notice that the game is called different than it has in the past. What made playoff basketball were the images of Kurt Rambus on a fast break getting clotheslined or intimidating defenses like the Bad Boy Pistons. How about the Knicks hardcore defense in the 90’s or when there were the “Jordan Rules”? Playoff basketball is still exciting but the referees are not letting the players just play aggressive ball.

During each game, it seems that the referees try to make it about them now. How many times have you seen the ref make a call and the player disagrees then the ref T’s him up right away? That can be alright if it’s the regular season, but when it comes to the playoffs you have to understand that there is plenty of emotion and legacies are on the line. In the NBA you can find a referee arguing with the player on a call. Also the referee’s treat the “Superstar” players different than the role players. You hear all of the time about a star player getting a call because of who he is. I understand that we all pay to see the star players but to give them a foul call because of their stature is nonsense.

The bottom line is that we all don’t pay to see Joey Crawford; we pay to see LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.