You see it all the time. Superstars getting the calls in their favor & being overly protected by the officials. The Jordan's, Malone's, & Shaq's of the NBA throwing an elbow, holding, flopping, traveling etc. etc. & the refs won't call it, but let a rookie or role player breath on a superstar & the refs can't blow the whistle fast enough. So, my question is: Will Ming & the Rockets get the calls? With the NBA all excited about getting Ming over here, will they protect him? I know that everyone believes the player has to earn his respect, but if the refs overlook fouls by the superstars, then what's to say that the league office won't instruct the refs to protect Ming? The league has to realize that, with the sensitive nature of the Chinese government, seeing Shaq, Oakley, etc. etc. throwing elbows into Mings face & chest & knocking him around, might cause China to be embarrassed & pull Ming back. The NBA has a tremendous financial opportunity in furthering their business dealings with China. Any thoughts on this?
I sincerely hope there is no even semi-formalized doctrine of favoritism in the league. I understand that even refs are prone to unconscious favoritism but I would rather lose a fair game than win a crooked one.
As a rookie he will have to earn the respect of the referees to get any calls in his favor which will be very few anyway as the veterans usually get away with fouls.
Glad someone brought this subject up as it is something I had been thinking about as well. Saleem, I agree with your post for the most part but part of me wonders if Ming will be different since the NBA will want him to SHINE as much as possible. Ming's minutes will most likely be dictated by his FOUL situation. The NBA wants him to succeed and wants him in the game. He can't succeed unless he is on the court and is not being hampered in foul trouble. So perhaps Ming will "slightly" bypass some of the "rookie needs to earn respect from officials" syndrome and get a few more calls his way just because of the nature of the situation. Chris
Ming will have to earn the calls. Then maybe he will get the unreal calls that shaq gets. His manner in the way he carries himself will win the respect of the refs and more than likely will get him a few calls.
Some of you guys are missing the point of the thread. The question is: Will Stern give the refs a clear cut directive that Ming is to be given the same breaks as the superstars? It's not: Will the refs decide to give him the calls or will he have to earn them?
I get the feeling that Stern will not give any such directive to the referees even though the NBA would like him to succeed.
