My apologies if others feel this should be in the two Joey Crawford threads, but I feel this is a separate topic deserving of its own discussion. Joey Crawford seems to have penned a "so long" email to the NBA refs as well as the NBA head office, and in it lays out that it is a "travesty" that Dick Bavetta would be working the Finals. http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2841154&name=stein_marc Pretty interesting - first I've heard of refs themselves sniping at Bavetta. Makes sense, though - Crawford calls the game very by-the-books and isn't big about star treatment, where Bavetta is the loosest ref in the league in terms of his calls. Has a great rapport with the players, but can be very slanted in the way he's calling the game (home cooking, star treatment, etc). Evan
They're headcases, but as for firing them, as KellyDwyer wrote in the other thread, there's a critical shortage of good refs capable of calling high stakes playoff games. This is the reason why Knick Bavetta, Javie, and Crawford were let back after the IRS plane ticket scandal.
The thing that drives me nuts about these refs are the 10-gallon egos. The game is not about the refs. They should be as anonimous as the ballboy and as contreversial as the cheerleaders. You get the sense that many of these guys are on a power trip. I remember Clyde had a similar run in with a ref in his first year with the Rox in a playoff game and got tossed early in the game. It could have had a huge implication on the Rox run.
There are people with big egos in every profession in the world. The refs must stop play in basketball, so they will never be "anonimous as the ballboy and as contreversial as the cheerleaders". Getting rid of refs because of egos is going to keep you from having a significant portion of the population as refs. But God knows as long as Stern is commish, there's not enough room in the NBA for his ego and anyone else's too.
Man does this guy have any class? The more I read about Crawford, the more I would actually like to see Duncan take 15 seconds out of his day to beat him up.
This ejection looks permanentby: Marc Stein posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry filed under: Tim Duncan Kudos to my colleague Chris Sheridan. He called it. Sheridan wrote in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's scenes in Dallas that referee Joey Crawford would be suspended for the rest of the season. I certainly expected the league to suspend him and even make the punishment public this time, as opposed to the usual Cone of Silence lowered over any dose of ref discipline, but I honestly didn't anticipate such a punitive step. I get the sense that the Spurs and Tim Duncan didn't expect it, either. But now? Informed sources say Crawford's NBA career is likely over. The terms of his indefinite suspension call for Crawford, a 31-year veteran who has refereed 38 NBA Finals games, to meet with league officials at season's end to assess his future. But Crawford made it clear to NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson on Tuesday that he would eject Duncan again if the circumstances were the same. Crawford likewise informed superiors (including NBA commissioner David Stern) and fellow referees via e-mail Tuesday that "if my employer does not think that was acceptable, I have a problem" reffing in the future. Crawford has maintained from the start that Duncan deserved two technicals for what he deemed to be disrespecting the game by "laughing [at] and mocking the officials." Crawford also blasted fellow referee Dick Bavetta in the e-mail obtained by ESPN.com, hinting at divisions among referees between those who do and don't support Bavetta and writing that maybe Bavetta will wind up as the crew chief in Game 7 of the NBA "which is a travesty in itself you even being in the finals." Stern, in an appearance on Tuesday's "Pardon The Interruption" on ESPN, acknowledged Crawford's discontent, telling co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: "In fairness, I would say that [Crawford] doesn't think he did anything wrong and probably doesn't wish to work in the NBA any more." Crawford's father (Shag Crawford) and brother (Jerry Crawford) were/are longtime baseball umpires. No referee in the NBA is more put off by being shown up than Joey Crawford. But that has always been the knock on an official that the NBA, in its press release to announce the suspension, felt compelled to remind us "is consistently rated as one of our top referees." More than a few times in his three decades with a whistle, obviously, Crawford's calls and game management have overshadowed the actual game. The league does and will always have big problems with that approach, as it stressed to Crawford in a heated meeting after the 2003 playoffs. That's when Crawford ejected then-Mavs coach Don Nelson from a Western Conference finals game in San Antonio for refusing Crawford's order to return to the bench and standing defiantly at midcourt. Crawford was sternly warned that any repeat offenses would be dealt with severely. Stern obviously wasn't kidding. The Commish gave referees license to call more technical fouls this season, in the league's ongoing attempt to improve its image, but clearly doesn't equate anything that happened after Duncan's first technical Sunday with being tougher on the players. Hitting Duncan with a second T for laughter on the bench? Inviting him to fight, whether it was a literal or figurative invitation? On PTI, Stern said: "Joey knows our view on, shall I say, his loss of control. You just can't keep doing that." Crawford, meanwhile, seemed to be saying goodbye in his message to bosses and colleagues, writing: "Please do not be sad for me [as] I have had a great run and a great career and NOBODY will ever take that from me." He also likened his situation to longtime ref Jake O'Donnell, who was barred by the league from working the 1995 NBA Finals after refusing to shake hands with Houston's Clyde Drexler before a '95 playoff game and later ejecting Drexler. O'Donnell never refereed in the league again.
Get over it. They're coddled millionaires in short pants. They're a step away from throwing spitballs. Act like a grown up, tell them to shove it up their ass, and let the game continue apace.
This guy loses his cool because a guy is laughing on the bench is moronic. His mind was not on his job and he should've called off that day. I've seen players do much worse than laugh.
I'm just glad that the NBA ref incompetence is finally getting major news coverage, and hopefully leads to an overhaul of the ref evaluation system. The players disciplinary actions are made public, and so should the ref evaluations. If they knew that their screw ups would be on ESPN the next day, I think the refs would think twice about some of the decisions they make.
The bottom line is... WE SHOULDN'T KNOW THEIR NAMES! The fact that we do speaks volumes to how these guys inevitably get inflated egos. The belief is that nobody else can ref marquee NBA games except 5-6 guys who have been in the league 20+ years... I believe that is a bunch of BS. Sure, you can't stick any high school ref out there and expect him to keep up with both the pace of the game, as well as make accurate calls. But, at the same time, you get some younger guys in there... train them to no end (with both game footage, pre-season games, as well as regular season ones)... and start stockpiling a huge population of refs willing to work NBA games. I understand that these guys are the best at what they do... and that's why they've been there 20+ years... but inevtiably, things like vendettas, old habits, and egos get in the way. They should have term limits... or be reviewed constantly every game, every year. Hell, maybe Cuban was right all along.
I think Crawford was probably right in tossing Duncan. The league said they wanted to crack down on players disrespecting the officials, and he was definately doing that. At the same time, I do recognize that Crawford lost his self-control and the suspension is warranted. But, I don't think this idea that Crawford's suspension means that Duncan't expulsion wasn't warranted isn't right.
I don't think the league would have come out so strong had it been a player other than Duncan such as Rasheed or A.I. The Technical was unwarranted and you don't throw a guy out for laughing on the bench. For a 31 year old official, he acted as if he was still in 2nd grade. I guess he's getting back at all the years of gettin bullied.
Why does Crawford believe there will be a Game 7 in the NBA Finals? More evidence that the outcome is predetermined, perhaps? Just kidding, of course, but it will be interesting if it happens as Joey "predicted".
It's just a joke that Crawford was out of line and TD gets fined $25,000 for his comments. If sports is an accurate reflection of American society, we're in serious trouble. I still think Stern got this very wrong.
On the court at least, I can't say I've ever seen any major problems with Bevetta, and woudl be fine if he refereed Rockets playoff games. Dude is old, for sure, but he calls it like he sees it and usually calls it the same for both teams. I think Crawford is going to lose a comparison to Dick Bevetta every time.