You have to wonder about the NBA, however. Many diehard fans have long questioned the integrity of their officials and point to numerous specific incidents when they made questionable calls or non-calls at crucial junctures. One of the more infamous non-calls was in game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals when Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls blatantly pushed off Bryon Russell of the Utah Jazz to clear space for his championship winning shot. Many people have saved video of the incident that has been widely distributed on the Internet, which shows an NBA official standing in plain view of the blatant infraction by Jordan but not making the call.
The Jordan Rules
Though “Jordan Rules,” a book about Jordan in the early 1990s, was not about his special treatment, the phrase has since become synonymous for the preferential treatment he received, which was common knowledge to players and fans alike.
As one reader has pointed out, the term originated with the Detroit Pistons and the defensive scheme they used to control Jordan. However, the phrase evolved to take on a double meaning that represented the preferential treatment he received from officials.
This is business as usual in the NBA. Some believe this “star system” was a marketing technique developed by Commissioner David Stern to create superstars who would draw more fans and more revenue to the NBA. It probably isn’t a coincidence that the year Stern became NBA Commissioner was Jordan’s rookie season.
Michael Jordan may have been the first NBA star to be accorded special treatment, but others have been treated royally since then, like Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and the latest to ascend to the throne of royalty, Kevin Durant. Though Duncan and O’Neal still are active, they have since been dethroned as their talents have declined.
Blowing the Whistle
Former NBA Referee Tim Donaghy confirmed manipulation of games by both the NBA and referees in his recent book, originally called Blowing the Whistle. The NBA has tried to suppress the book and discredit Donaghy because he was convicted of betting on NBA games and spent time in prison. But the FBI investigation of Donaghy that sent him to jail concluded that he is telling the truth.
Former NBA MVP and scoring champion, Allen Iverson, who was for a brief period an NBA darling, often created contact and pushed people at will without being whistled for a foul. However, his thuggish off-court behavior finally drew the wrath of League officials. Donaghy described a situation in 2007 after Iverson had threatened a referee. According to Donaghy, referees had discussed the situation and agreed not to call any but the most blatant fouls committed against Iverson. He said they did this with the full sanction of an NBA supervisor, who wanted to teach Iverson a lesson.
In another instance, prior to a playoff series involving Kobe Bryant, Donaghy said the League sent out tapes showing fouls on Bryant that were not being called and instructed the officials assigned to his games that the fouls needed to be called. In addition to general instructions handed down, Donaghy said some referees were being used by the NBA to manipulate the outcome of games. Singled out for this was the NBA’s longest active official, Dick Bavetta.
“Studying under Dick Bavetta for 13 years was like pursuing a graduate degree in advanced game manipulation,” Donaghy wrote . . . . “[He] knew how to take subtle — and not so subtle — cues from the NBA front office and extend a playoff series or, worse yet, change the complexion of that series.”
Donaghy provided a case in point: Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, which Bavetta officiated along with Bob Delaney and Ted Bernhardt. According to Donaghy, the League office sent a message prior to the game that certain calls were being missed by the referees. Bavetta candidly discussed it, saying that it would be good for the League if the calls went in favor of the Lakers who were down 3-2 in the series.
“ ‘The series will be even at three apiece, and then the better team can win Game 7,’ ” Donaghy quoted Bavetta as saying.
The Lakers did win the game, thanks to a parade at the foul line orchestrated by the referees, won Game 7 and finally the NBA title. Donaghy described it as “one of the most poorly officiated games of all time.” It was the Kings last and best chance for an NBA title with the team of Webber, Divac, Stojakovic, Christie, and Bibby, whom many believe were better that year than the Lakers.
Bavetta, the Go-to Guy
Bavetta, according to Donaghy, confessed that he had manipulated games under League instruction on other occasions, describing himself as the league’s “go-to guy” for that purpose. In fact, Bavetta was the head official for the aforementioned Game 6 of the NBA title series between the Bulls and Jazz when Jordan made the infamous push-off, and the official standing in full view of the push-off. That game also involved two other crucial missed calls on buzzer beaters, both which were ruled incorrectly, as replays showed, against the Jazz. Utah fans still grumble about that series, which was the last and best chance of the Stockton-Malone-Jerry Sloan teams to win an NBA title. Sometime later, Bavetta actually apologized to Sloan for the missed calls.
Apologies mean nothing when errors are intentional. Such manipulation reinforces the long held belief of many that the League favors the big market teams over the smaller ones. Since Stern became Commissioner, every NBA champion has been from a big market city: Los Angeles with seven titles; Chicago, six; Detroit and San Antonio, three; Boston and Houston, two; and Miami, one.
See A Climate of Unfairness in the NBA
References
Tommy Craggs, Excerpts from the book the NBA doesnt want you to read
Tim Donaghy, Blowing the Whistle, Chicago: Triumph Books, 2009
Tom Calarco - Tom Calarco is the author and editor of five books on the Underground Railroad, the latest, Places of the Underground Railroad, to be ...
