David "Too" Stern Correctly Cracks Down on Complaining in NBA

This off-season, David Stern passed down a new conduct rule which included tweaking technical fouls and increasing the fines associated with them.

As little as five years ago “Too” Stern created the dress code, which requires players to dress “professionally” when going to work at NBA arenas. Done were the days of chains, sweats and other “hood” clothing as Stern realized his league filled with young and wealthy black athletes is being sold to middle-aged white men. The perception of NBA player (certainly every Denver “Thugget”) being a “thug” was persisting in the post “Malice-in-the-Palace” incident (in which Ron Artest rushed the crowd and beat on a fan).

And while this new ruling doesn’t carry with it the harsh and evident complexities of race dynamics, (as the dress code did) players are just as upset with the new crack down on complaining.

“Punching the air” and other gestures like laughing off a perceived bad call will no longer be tolerated by the NBA officials or the little man who sits atop the NBA empire with his crown glistening.

Fines have doubled, at $2,000 (first five), $3,000 (6-10) and $4,000 (techs 11-15). At technical foul number 16 on the season the player is suspended one game for each additional two technicals ($5,000 a piece). The new framework for suspending players that receive too many technical fouls was put into action by “Too” Stern in the 2006-07 season and paved the way for this current rule change.

And under the new rules, which give refs free rain to call technicals on most anything, Kevin Garnett was thrown out of a preseason game in the first quarter for laughing at his first technical in the game and Grant Hill of all people was ejected for exchanging butt pats with Reggie Evans after Hill tripped in the game.

Emotions run wild in the NBA, as they should—take away emotion and there would be no game we love to watch.

It’s a positive for a player to possess a competitive fire in sports—we love watching athletes who give it their all no matter what the cost. Conversely, we chastise those that seem disinterested in winning—for an athlete to hope for a clean, fun game is not enough in America.

Simply put, emotions drive competitive play.

Why then would Stern ask players to “Curb your Enthusiasm?”

Denver Nuggets veteran point guard Chauncey Billups weighed in on the issue saying, “It’s (emotion) impossible to keep in check. It’s an emotional game and it’s impossible not to show emotion playing basketball.”

Current Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony agreed, “You’re going to have guys get emotional during the game, clap their hands, yell and scream. As long as they do that in a professional way I don’t think it should be a tech, but we can’t do that anymore. From what we’ve seen, we can’t have that much emotion.”

It seems as if “Too” Stern’s ruling is being misconstrued and misunderstood by players though.

The problem in the NBA is not too much emotion; the problem Stern is trying to solve is the constant complaining that is running rampant in today’s NBA.

This current culture of complaining began in the 90s with Michael Jordan and has grown into the absolute nuisance it is today.

Basically every time down an NBA hardwood a player whines to refs about either a missed or perceived bad call.

Nowadays, no NBA player thinks they ever commit a foul, and they’ll be damned if the referees don’t see it that way.

It started with MJ chirping to refs and getting their ear (of course others complained before but none were given the benefit of calls like Jordan was) and it was as if the referees were not only in awe with MJ’s play, but they also became inclined to call the game in his favor.

The relaxation of the traveling call can be without a doubt contributed to Jordan’s smooth and quick dribbling—the refs knew he was bending the rules and they bent further to allow it.

Did MJ ask for privileged treatment?

Or, could it have been Stern’s decision to let the star shine brighter with help of the refs?

It’s no surprise that Stern has built his NBA on the shoulders of stars, so is it really that much a stretch to believe he ordered refs to tilt the court in Jordan’s favor?

Jordan transformed the game, not only from an on-court perspective, but off the court as well—his Jordan brand shoes, television commercials and international fame worked in the NBA’s favor as he sold the NBA as a brand to audiences across the globe.

Kobe Bryant may or may not be the heir-apparent to Jordan’s throne, the debate is out there, but he definitely took over where Jordan left off in the evolution of star-referee relations.

Once Bryant was established as a rising star, likely the centerpiece of the Association for years to come back in the mid-90s, Kobe was given preferential treatment as well.

No sane person can argue that Kobe doesn’t get more calls that nearly every other player in today’s game and he gets them through complaining, yelling and pouting to the officials. The ref-player dynamic has gotten so intrusive that Bryant can regularly be seen with his hand around a referee, pleading his case (it’s supposed to be against the rules to come into contact with a ref). And more often than not, what follows after a Kobe-referee pow wow is a whistle in Bryant’s or the Lakers’ favor.

But pleading your case to a ref doesn’t always work, even if you’re a supposed “star.”

Just ask Carmelo Anthony, who as recent as 2008 was not receiving nearly as much ref love as Kobe or fellow ’03 draftee LeBron James.

Better yet, ask Rasheed Wallace about what happened when he complained to refs—he was T’d up more than any other player in the history of the NBA.

But the complaining epidemic doesn’t end with stars, it only begins there, as in recent years bench warmers and the like (see JR Smith) have began to complain non-stop.

In an interesting take from ESPN’s Around the Horn yesterday, every one of the four journalists believed their team (Den, SA/Dal, LA, Bos) whines the most, showing how horrendous it has become.

Simply, Stern should have come out and said, “Shut up, quit bitching and play ball."

Why?

Because complaining is bad for basketball and the reasons are multifaceted.

Firstly, complaining slows down the game and detracts from the on-court product. Instead of getting back on defense, some players stop to beseech the refs to see it their way.

Next, whining to refs sets a poor example by showing terrible sportsmanship. Players need to allow referees to do their job, and players should focus on theirs.

In the MLB, players are thrown out of games all the time, mostly for arguing balls and strikes, and no one argues it is bad for the game.

Baseball players (along with the NFL and NHL) are not put on a pedestal like NBA player are by referees, the officials in the other major American sports do not change calls due to player complaints, they merely ignore or penalize those who whine.

But the biggest reason complaining needs to be curbed is because it gives some an unfair advantage over others.

Don’t think so?

Take a quick look at Kobe’s (7.6), LeBron’s (10.2) or any other top-five scorer’s free throw attempts, they easily overshadow others.

Free shots lead to free points and more wins for teams lucky enough to have the “chosen ones."

Stern was smart in setting up the future of the league to be centered around stars, but his plan of catering to their every whim has backfired.

The conspiracy theorists will scream that Kobe and Bron Bron get more calls because Stern and the NBA wants to give them a better chance to play for championships, and at this point, who can blame them?

Preferential treatment by NBA refs is observable fact and is an unfair advantage for some over others.

Referees must realize they are in charge of protecting the sanctity and legitimacy of the game—giving one assistance taints not only the image of the Association but the product on the court as well.

It’s also no secret there are a certain handful of teams that stars want to play for (LA, NY, CHI) and they are the ones that win titles. In fact, only eight teams have won an NBA title (26.7 percent), with the Celtics (17) and Lakers (16) owning a lion’s share of championships, another line of reasoning the conspiracy theorists point to when they argue that the NBA is rigged.

Personally, I am not one to believe in a sham league, one in which Stern hand picks the champion before play even begins (nor do I think it would be possible even if every referee was on the take). But, the league and its officials feed fuel onto the fire when certain players, coaches (see Phil Jackson) and teams are continuously competing for championships, seemingly always receiving “star treatment” from refs.

Think for a second about it; what other league receives so much negative attention around officiating?

Certainly not the NHL or NFL (where one-two glaring miscalls happen per year). Not even in the MLB, where a bad call cost a pitcher a perfect game this year and where numerous questionable calls were made in ‘09’s playoffs, are the officials scrutinized as much as in the NBA.

Why?

The reason is due to superstar treatment—the giving of calls, free throws and games to stars—as NBA refs call the game inconsistently, drawing more attention to themselves and away from the contest at hand.

Plainly put, the officiating in the NBA is unjust and Stern knows it.

Relentless bickering by stars to refs has not only swayed how the game is called, it has created borderline collusion, and Stern knows it. (And the accusations from ex-referee Tim Donaghy would give evidence of collusion if they turned out to be true.)

Call the new NBA the "No Bitching Association," a fun nickname fans can play with.

It may not be the solution, but the commissioner believes if he is more Stern on players, they will have to fall in line or miss game after game.

If referees are consistent under the new rules, this could be a great change for the league, evening up how fouls are called for anyone that steps onto the court.

It will not only shut up players, but shut down the conspiracy theorists and it may even create better competition in the end.

So for now, even though players hate it, Stern was correct in cracking down on complaining players.

Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner, Kurtzman is a Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets Featured Columnist for bleacherreport.com and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.

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