I respect officials in any sport ??? referees, umpires, judges ??? for doing their job day in and day out in the face of increasingly demanding and disrespectful fans. This happens on any level of play; I umpire slow-pitch co-ed recreational softball in the summer and am blown away by the lack of respect. The complaints and hostility even come from coaches who should be helping to create a fair and positive competition.
Basketball referees, especially, have been getting a lot of heat lately with the whirlwind intensity of March Madness. I???m usually quick to defend officials, but just a few days ago there was an incident that was controversial. Tim Duncan got tossed from a game for laughing on the bench. For Laughing. On the bench.
Last month I blogged about an article by John Feinstein in the Washington Post that suggested officials should be made available for post-game interviews. His argument centered on the fact that officials don???t have to defend their bad calls, and because they are paid professionals they should have to walk up to microphone just as the other paid professionals do.
While, overall, I don???t believe referees having to defend their calls is a good idea, I would be very interested to hear what the referee in this case has to say for himself. Do you think officials should be subject to a post-game press conference?
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