NBA Playoffs 2012: Fines Send Wrong Message About Officiating

If television deals, advertising and merchandise weren't filling the NBA's pocket books enough, they'll get just a little bit richer on account of the two fines it issued this week.

Thanks to his suggestion that the Miami Heat are "the biggest flopping team in the NBA," Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel now owes the NBA $15,000, according to the Associated Press. The bigger concern may have been his intimation that referees are falling for the shenanigans, compromising the NBA's fantastical myth of irreproachable officiating.

But if you think that's a steep price to pay, Atlanta Hawks owner Michael Gearon has it beat by a long shot—he's been fined $35,000 for suggesting referees were letting the Boston Celtics get away with too many fouls in a hard-fought first-round series (via ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg):

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During Wednesday's offday before Game 6, Gearon at an event in Atlanta said: "We don’t get any calls, which I know everybody always hears. But I’ll give you a stat. Last night, we are playing this old physical team. They are old. I know what happens when you play basketball, old guys foul. (Kevin) Garnett is the dirtiest guy in the league. We are playing Boston last night and they had two fouls the whole first half. We had five times that and we’re athletic.”

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While both Vogel and Gearon did more than hint at the NBA's failure to properly referee these games, they certainly didn't say anything disparaging about particular officials.

Maybe there were some accidental missed-calls. Maybe the rulebook is systemically subject to exploitation by players so-inclined to do so. Perhaps there are more ominous explanations.

One thing's for sure: There's no better way to fuel conspiratorial speculation than to bully and intimidate those who speak out.

Sure, this isn't a First Amendment issue. As much as the NBA may resemble a despotic regime silencing dissident opinion at a rate that would make Vladimir Putin blush, it still isn't a government institution.

But, it is an institution setting an absolutely terrible example of accountability.

This league fears an honest marketplace of ideas more than it does closing up shop for a couple of months while millionaires quibble over how best to share their millions. The refusal to address legitimate criticisms and grievances in a public arena is an unequivocal sign of weakness dressed in the garb of autocratic omnipotence.

After all, if there's really nothing to these public criticisms, why silence them? Surely it would be better to address them substantively and with an open mind. And surely it would behoove a fan-driven enterprise to engage these matters in the open, for all to see.

Instead, we're left with mindless denial that insults the intelligence of the viewing public, a constituency that often sympathizes with the likes of Vogel and Gearon (along with other outspoken voices like Mark Cuban).

Whatever the NBA owes its in-house critics, it certainly owes the fans a more complete explanation of why officiating sometimes appears so far off-base.

There's a time and place for fines. Some rules really shouldn't be broken.

However, the use of penalties to shut down criticism is poor form. Competitive events are nothing if not managed equitably. Whenever the procedural integrity of the game is questioned, David Stern and his associates should listen.

And, we should listen too.