Complaining to the refs...now vs. 20 years ago

[bballnut90]

Just a little rant ahead....I was watching the ESPN Classic showings of the 97 and 98 LV championship games, and was really surprised at the lack of complaining to the refs by players. In 1997, there were some flat out awful calls both ways, but players rarely pouted to the refs and just shook it off and continued playing. Now that I think about it, I cannot Chamique Holdsclaw ever arguing with the refs or getting testy, even if a bad call went against her. In the title game she had a great block that was called a foul, and she smiled her frustration off. That seemed to be the norm back that, players just accepted the refs as part of the game and dealt with it.

Now days, it has gotten ridiculous with how customary it is to argue with the refs. Everyone does it--Candace, Tamika, Taurasi, Diggins, etc. Heck, Stefanie Dolson complains about literally every single foul she's called for. In the highlight of Candace's block/3 pt play to seal the win for the Sparks last night, Briann January clearly bumps her as Candace is going for a layup, but after the foul call, January immediately puts her palms up in the classic "how are you calling me for that foul?" form and then complains to the refs. Watch any WNBA game and you'll see at least 50% of the fouls be complained about.

Does this bother anyone else? It drives me crazy. I wish refs would T players up for crying on every play. Players need to accept the call, move on, and continue playing. Rant over.

 

[DaddyChoc]

WNBA complaining (players have the power) vs college complaining is different (coaches have the power to do it).

 

[RollerVol]

everybody knows the refs are never right unless the call is for you and not against you...

GO VOLS!

 

[Coach Jumper]

everybody knows the refs are never right unless the call is for you and not against you...

GO VOLS!

Working the refs should never come from a player in any level. Pro's possibly, but not otherwise.

Working the refs is the coach's JOB!.. And just like every other aspect of the responsibilities of a coach, some have this strength and some don't.

Refs, per my experience, will take advantage of a non-assertive or *****y coach. They, however, respect it when they are worked properly and will be more persuasive if you know what you're doing.

 

[volfanIND]

Back in the 1990's you could actually 'play' basketball. If those players played today, they'd all foul out. I miss those days.

 

[armchair]

as someone else mentioned, you are conflating college players, who don't react/complain much, with pro players, who are always griping about calls.

 

[Rixxx]

BBallnut, I totally agree with you. The complaining gets you nowhere, except perhaps camera time. Don't forget the WNBA refs are not the cream of the crop. I wish the players would just cool it and let the complaining up to the coach.

 

[Coach Jumper]

BBallnut, I totally agree with you. The complaining gets you nowhere, except perhaps camera time. Don't forget the WNBA refs are not the cream of the crop. I wish the players would just cool it and let the complaining up to the coach.

It is definitely an art-form.

You want to say, "Dang it Ref, #12 is shoving my players, they're fouling every time they defend my players".... (( This is accusatory and argumentative ))

But what you have to actually say is, "Mr. Ref,,, #12 is leaning on my player out there. Maybe they weren't taught how to body up, Huh?"......

The second way of saying it sounds passive, but it leaves it up to the ref to interpretation of the infraction. And refs, by and large are disrespected anyway. If you give them an "initial respect" without cowering to them, is in your best interest.

But, also, as we all know, sometimes it isn't just a formality. I have coached 35 years and have only had a dozen or so Technicals. . . One was a double-T, I asked for the second one on the play before. . . My team was playing uninspired and I told one of the refs... "Next time down, I am going to whisper in your ear and I want you to T me up"... I whispered to him "I'm going to O'Charley's after the game"... Got T'd... It was hilarious.

And the team responded and from what I was told, after I exited the gym, they began to get ALL the calls.

The coolest Tech??

I once asked a ref if I could get a T for what I think?
He said, "Of course not"
So I said,"Good, because I THINK you suck"
I got T'd.

 

[linkster]

At least some of the complaining in the W is due to inconsistency in calls. Players aren't questioning the fact of whether they fouled, they are complaining that the same thing wasn't called on the other end.

Another thing I see in the W is the delayed whistle. Refs see a foul on a shot but only blow the whistle when the shot doesn't go in, often long after the foul was committed.

It's plain that the refs are being instructed on what the league feels makes the games more attractive to the crowd. That means home calls. It's naive to think that business concerns aren't an influence on the way games are officiated. Stars playing at home get the calls and to the extent that that is done, the respect players have for the officials is lowered.

 

[VolPack22]

It would help if the level of refereeing had not declined so much. I know basketball is the hardest sport to officiate but in the men's and women's game it has gotten out of control. NBA officiating is a joke too. I don't think players or coaches would be as mad if there was just consistency. Who cares if you make a bad judgement call? I know I couldn't care less. Just make sure all of the refs throughout call the game the same way throughout the game and also throughout the season. It is extremely hard to watch these games sometimes as a fan and I'm sure it frustrates the hell out of coaches and players.

 

[Amb3096]

as someone else mentioned, you are conflating college players, who don't react/complain much, with pro players, who are always griping about calls.

As collegiate players, I'm pretty sure that Skylar Diggins, Stefanie Dolson and Odyssey Sims believe they have never committed a personal foul. Every time they got whistled, their facial reaction was as if someone accused them of kicking puppies.

I'm not singling out those three as the only culprits, but they deserve Academy Awards for their acting jobs.