Like many sports fans, I become exceedingly angry when I feel that a referee or umpire has made a bad call against the team that I’m rooting for. I end up making wildly untrue claims suggesting I could do a better job than the professionals, despite my terrible eyesight and mediocre cardiovascular condition (although for baseball, fitness is clearly irrelevant).
Sometimes, the conspiracy theorist in me emerges. I will then start tossing out accusations that the entire league is against my team and these officials have been sent to do some dirty work on behalf of the powers that be, conceivably for financial reasons. It’s all a part of being a deeply passionate, yet irrational fan.
It sure seems like we see way more blown calls and officiating mistakes now than, say, 15 years ago doesn’t it? With today’s technology we have the ability to scrutinize plays like never before. A half-dozen crystal clear camera angles and amazing slow motion replays allow us to dissect a play and find out what happened definitively.
The reality is that the officials in any sport are human, just like you or me, and just like the players competing. Mistakes are going to happen, and sometimes they are going to happen at the most inopportune times (see Joyce, Jim and Meals, Jerry). In a perfect sporting world, we would never know the names of the officials, because we would be given no reason to.
A disturbing trend is emerging, however.
Now, more than ever before, officials have shown a desire to become a part of the game. We see referees and umpires deliberately making their presence known, by making exaggerated call signals or by being confrontational with players. We see retaliation and what can at best be described as favoritism toward certain players and at worst vendettas toward others.
Officials are supposed to be administrators. They should be held to a higher standard than the players and coaches involved in the games, because for them there should be no emotional factor to any of their decisions. Certainly players and coaches say some terrible things to officials in the heat of competition, and I’m not excusing that. But for a professional official to retaliate in kind is wrong.
Can you imagine the official at the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee berating a kid and getting in his or her face after they misspelled “staphylococci?” How about a judge wildly gesticulating while handing out a sentence to a convicted criminal, and then chest bumping said criminal on his way out of the courtroom? Just the thought is ridiculous, but we see similar situations in sports and regard it as normal.
This year baseball has supplied us with examples of some of the officiating offenses I listed.
Wednesday, Chicago Cubs outfielder Tyler Colvin was ejected after taking a called third strike and yelling at himself in frustration. The umpire was Bob Davidson (who Marlins fans already know about), and after hearing Colvin shout he followed him toward the dugout and ejected him. That seems like really aggressive behavior, especially since Colvin had his back to Davidson when he yelled. There is no excuse for an umpire seeking a confrontation in that manner.
In May, Angel Hernandez ejected Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona from a game for arguing a balk call. Crew Chief Joe West then inserted himself into the argument, making Francona enraged. West then tried to physically keep Francona from talking to Hernandez. Francona was not suspended for the incident, which suggests that MLB at least knew that West was in the wrong.
Umpire Jerry Meals made a now infamous (and by all accounts and replays, incorrect) call July 26 to end a fantastic 19-inning game between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was in the correct position and thought he saw a false tag on a throw that beat the runner by several feet. What makes his situation different from the West and Davidson incidents is that he stayed under control when Pirates manager Clint Hurdle came to argue. There was no pushing back or retaliatory shouting, and Meals conceded after the game that he made the call he thought was right, and if it was missed it was unintentional.
The NBA has had more than its share of referee-related controversy, with the Tim Donaghy scandal that was uncovered in 2007. That hasn’t stopped them from assigning certain referees to games (even playoff games) in which teams they have had prior problems with are playing. Joey Crawford is one notable example, due to his contentious relationship with the San Antonio Spurs and in particular Tim Duncan. Danny Crawford has a similar past with the Dallas Mavericks. Bennett Salvatore has had run-ins with many teams in the NBA. The NBA has built itself on the power of the individual player, and it seems that referees have guys they like and guys that they don’t.
In the cases of MLB and the NBA, it seems the officials are either trying to be extraordinarily tough, as if to assert their dominance – understandable, but surely not the best way to do so – or they carry grudges toward certain teams or players, likely from players complaining or being disrespectful.
The NFL has largely escaped these problems, although they have had select incidents that are questionable. Certainly Ed Hochuli has blown some key calls that have swung the outcome of games. Overall, though, the NFL has done a good job of making its officials work in an emotionless state, and it is uncommon for them to target certain players or teams (although Raiders fans and Steelers and Patriots haters might argue that).
The NFL is a mechanical entity. Roger Goodell rules with an iron fist, as judge, jury and executioner in personal conduct matters and on-field issues. For instance, referee Walt Coleman, he of the infamous “Tuck Rule” call between the Patriots and Raiders, has not worked an Oakland game since that game in 2001. That may be coincidental, but given how sound the NFL runs its operations, I doubt it.
As long as human officials are blowing whistles and making out/safe and ball/strike calls, there will be errors. Players, coaches, and in most cases, fans, want the same thing from the on-field administrators of play – be as consistent as possible, and when a mistake is made, apologize and own up to it. Let the emotion stay on the field of play.
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Twitter: @keithmullett
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Image Credits:
Jared Wickersham, Getty Images via www.chicagotribune.com
About Keith Mullett
