3 Reasons Why NBA Fans Will Never Completely Trust NBA Officials

NBA officials may not seem good for much these days, but they've always made for a reliable scapegoat. If former referee Steve Javie has his way, though, that might begin to change.

According to Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch, Javie is doing his part to explain questionable calls as a "rules analyst" during coverage of the NBA Finals. After Mike Pereira took on a similar role with Fox Sports' NFL coverage, Javie hopes to do the same for the world of hoops:

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"Mike and I are friends and I think what he's done has been fantastic," Javie said. "He's been the trailblazer here and he told me he thought the NBA, ESPN or TNT would be interested in something like this. I think Mike has really gained credibility for officials in the NFL, but fans of the NBA have never heard from or been given the perspective from the officials' point of view. I'm hoping for positive feedback because I believe it's something that's been missing. I hope people come away and say, 'Boy, I didn't even look at it that way, and I never knew that.'"

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Sure, a few fans may walk away thinking exactly that. 

But let's be honest: Right or wrong, most fans have some creative ideas for things an official can do with his "point of view." Those fans are as interested in hearing bad calls rationalized as they are in watching their teams get booted from the playoffs on account of those bad calls.

Javie's endeavor is admirable, and it will make for some quality entertainment.

Just don't expect a radical change of heart from the average fan, and here's why.

Complaining About Officials Is a National Pastime

Droning on about the injustices that decided last night's game is as American as apple pie.

No one really cares whether there's anything remotely plausible about their ranting and raving. It's a coping mechanism that mixes denial and anger into a potent anti-officiating concoction. If it weren't for referees, fans would face the unenviable task of actually turning the blame on their favorite team's heroes.

We can't have that.

It may seem as though a referee's job is to ensure a fair playing field, exacting competitive equity in place of the Hobbesian "state of nature" we call a playground pick-up game.

But, their most important contribution is serving as the ultimate scapegoat. Officials afford fans the cathartic opportunity to re-write history and differentiate the final score from how things should have gone down.

For that, we should thank them—and then attack them some more.

Tim Donaghy

The fans' worst fears about the integrity of NBA officials was confirmed when former referee Tim Donaghy was arrested and later convicted for taking advantage of insider knowledge for the purposes of betting on games (via the New York Times' Pat Jordan):

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For the 13 years he was an N.B.A. referee, Donaghy was a traveling dad, gone from his daughters for days at a time and then over-the-top effusive when at home. But in 2007, Donaghy was arrested for using, and then sharing, his knowledge of league directives, the personalities of fellow refs, the philosophies of N.B.A. coaches and the physical condition of players to place bets on league games, including some he officiated. “No different than Wall Street insider trading,” he says now. “Except I didn’t affect the economy.” He became, in the media, “the rogue ref,” “the fixer ref,” “the disgraced ref” who “ratted out” his friends and fellow officials to save his own skin.

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His demise seemed to confirm the worst fears of every conspiratorial rambling.

Donaghy has remained a symbol of sketchy officiating ever since, becoming something of a poster-boy for Boston Celtics fans questioning the legitimacy of calls in this year's Eastern Conference finals. Even if his case is the exception rather than the rule, the fact that it was even possible is as discomforting as a dentist's chair.

Corruption isn't unique to the NBA to be sure, but we'd all like to think the game we know and love is above the fray. Unfortunately, we now know it isn't.

The Stories Are Too Good to Be True

This season's showdown between MVP LeBron James and scoring champion Kevin Durant couldn't have made for a better story if it were scripted—and that's exactly what's so unnerving.

The Western and Eastern Conference finals alike were replete with officiating that was bizarre at best and seemingly scandalous at worst. The referees justifiably became a subtext to two otherwise outstanding series.

And, the outcome of those series was just too predictably perfect.

The casual fan doesn't want to watch the stoic San Antonio Spurs or the aging Boston Celtics, and it's the casual fan who makes the difference for these games' ratings.

All too often, NBA postseasons seem to have been produced on the same Hollywood soundstage where conspiracists believe the "moon landing" took place. Whether it's the resurgence of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry or a thoroughly-hyped series improbably prolonged for seven games, some things just seem too good to be true.

It's become commonplace for fans to surmise that, "The NBA wants to see so-and-so in the NBA Finals" or "The NBA wants such-and-such series to go seven games."

Who can blame them? 

With so much money on the line and so little transparency surrounding league affairs, even the most ridiculous speculation seems at least remotely plausible. Until it's refuted with any degree of compelling finality, there will remain a significant trust deficit between fans and the refs they love to hate.