I know there has been a lot of talk on how the refs screw Yao and such, but here is another take. You very seldom see Yao talk to a ref unless he's complaining after being called for a foul or non foul. Ever notice how guys like Sura, Barry and TMac are always talking to the ref, either joking with them, or during a break in the action discussing why a foul wasn't called on the previous possession or why a foul was called on them? It's obvious things aren't going to change for Yao as things stand. When he was a rookie I just figured he wasn't getting the calls because most rookies don't. I also think it's on Yao to not b**** about calls that he is obviously wrong about. Nobody likes a whiner. I think if Yao were to start talking to these refs more often it might help his cause.
I wouldn't say "just". His Rockets teammates have been able to talk with him since day one. Obviously he's gotten better at it over the past 3 years. He's proven his english is just fine now and could talk to the refs more if he wished.
That is the thing with NBA, they claim to have the best refs(for the stars maybe) but treat players in a caste system. We all know how Tim Duncan felt about being treated the same way as all the other players at olympics and how well he performed.
Because it's human beings and they are not robots. For example, look at Hakeem. He use to say that he'd get travelling a lot on his moves but he took the time to show the refs before the games and they see it's not travelling. Star players get the benefit of the doubt because I'm guessing when they are young and receiving the rookie treatment, they made plays, and after you make enough of those plays, refs are gonna give you the benefit of the doubt.
I watch the ref show on nba channel and it's gotta be hard. They actually showed Yao versus Celtics last week, and that blocking foul in the lane should have been called traveling on Davis. They screwed it up. Most of us were debating whether it was a charge or not. But that wasn't even the call that should be debated. It was interesting. I don't care too much about the questionable calls. I Just don't like the phantom calls. That is what drives me nuts. How can you see a foul that did not happen. Those are the refs I want to politely choke.
I agree with your first sentence, but with your second sentence, really, did you see what the referees did with Duncan in the Olympics? Duncan would get butchered almost every shot he took, with the fouls getting called maybe half of the time at best, while on the other hand he would be in early foul trouble himself almost every game with ridiculous foul calls. Let's not pretend the FIBA referees that come from countries whose teams are themselves vying for the gold are impartial. But let's not sidetrack the thread with Olympics talk. Except for this conspiratorial note. I don't really believe this, but sometimes I wonder. Yao was treated fairly respectably in the Olympics. Duncan was not. In the NBA, Yao is given the Duncan Olympics' treatment. Payback?
Good point, now that would give people a baseline comparison for why Yao isn't doing better in NBA doesn't it.
Oh, and Faos, I like that idea alot of establishing that rapport with them. It really shouldn't matter, but I bet it does. It really annoys me when I see opposing players yucking it up with refs during timeouts. Makes me very fearful the officiating is going to turn against us in a big hurry. Did you see the ESPN announcers of the Minnesota/Houston game recently? Sam Cassell was doing his usual whining on every single play, doing his usual theatrics with his flailing in disgust. Then, later in the game, Sura nonchalantly complains to the official and gets a "T". Steve Jones made an interesting observation that Sam always complains, so the refs expect it from him, not necessarily Sura. Sam is always jabbering to the refs so they EXPECT him to do it. He showed up the officials much more than Sura did, but he doesn't get the T. And of course on timeouts, you always see Sam with a smile on his face, yapping to the refs about something.
Like I said though, I don't really believe that. I just can't seem to come up with a satisfying explanation as to why the refs seemingly have it in for Yao. All-Star, marketable, not a rookie anymore, good image for the league, treats refs with respect. All of which should work in his favor but don't. Of course, were Yao in New York, LA or Chicago, I wonder would the officiating be this poor. No, (slapping myself), must stop making conspiracy theories.
Shhhhh..... He does NOT speak English... erghmmm......... lol Remember he's got a good thing going heck ask Lisa Simpson.
Refs are human too. I think the thread starter has a point, befriend the refs and get favorable calls. It's true, Michael Jordan & Magic Johnson used to do a lot of befriending of the refs and see what kind of treatment they got.
I don't think it is about becoming their friends. It's about an open dialogue on how to interpret the rules. Contrary to what one may think, the NBA rule book is not a clear-cut definition of what is and is not illegal. Otherwise, there would be a foul called on every play and travelling on every other. In some ways this is good (the game would be slowed to an unwatchable pace), in some ways it is bad (if they would actually start calling more stuff per definition, theoretically it would adjust). The star players develope a dialogue with refs that allow them to influence the refs opinion because they are sharing their interpretation of the rules with said refs, who then recognize that maybe the player is right. A lot of the problem has to do with some of the automatic calls. Not being able to take a charge inside a random circle = r****ded. Not getting called for a foul going straight up vs. getting called for a foul if your arms extend forward 20-30 degrees, but there is no more contact then otherwise = r****ded, but that's jus the way it is.
Great post. It's about knowing why the refs are making the calls, and adjusting. If you present your gripe effectively, maybe the refs will adjust to you. Right now, Yao just gets a disgusted look on his face and does nothing. He should just ask why it was a foul, and what he can do to avoid it in the future. The refs will probably tell him what the flaw in his technique is, and voila. Right now, the refs can just keep on making the same call and not really feel challenged in any way. Meanwhile, Yao is clueless as to why they're calling fouls. It's really not rocket science. The refs will tell him what they want if he would only ask.
So are you guys saying that star players get to talk to the refs, but not the role players. That's double standards. Might as well put them in the book too.
But is an open dialogue really necessary for something like two hands in the back to be called? You'd think they are already seeing it. Still, couldn't hurt. So, by all means, try the open dialogue first. When that doesn't work, try befriending them. As the final option, start getting T's, which I hate for him to have to do (and he wouldn't anyway) but I bet would be effective.
The one foul call that I absolutely hate is when the defender goes straight up with his arms straight up and they call the foul on him when the opponent creates the contact.
