They’re Only Human

One of the most unappreciated jobs in the world of sports is being an official, or referee. Sometimes I wonder why anyone would want to do the job, but where would we be without these unsung figures in sports? Last Saturday, Syracuse University head basketball coach Jim Boeheim went ballistic on official Tony Greene with 10.4 seconds remaining in the game—the score 60-58 in favor of the Duke Blue Devils. Greene made a judgment call against Orangemen CJ Fair, as Duke’s Rodney Hood stepped in Fair’s path to draw an offensive foul. Boeheim ran onto the floor and his out-of-character antics charged him with two technical fouls. He was ejected from the game, as the Blue Devils defeated Syracuse 66-60 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Here is the question that has been flying around in ink, from the press and the TV media: Did Coach Boeheim’s tantrum cost the Syracuse Orangemen the game? Some of Syracuse’s players squeaked out a yes, with the thought that they still had a chance to win because at that time they were only down by two points. Boeheim said after the game that he had no regrets. His point, and I don’t disagree with him, was that according to the new rules of the current NCAA basketball season, what Hood did should have been called a blocking foul. The new rules, supposedly, benefit in favor of the person with the ball. “That was the game-decider right there,” Boeheim said. “I would have been happy with a no-call, let the players finish the game and see what happens. But it was a great game, tremendously well officiated, I just disagree with that last call.” Here’s a no-win situation for the men and women in the striped shirts! The hypothetical scenario is, if there are 2,000 people at a game, the given equal is that there are a thousand fans cheering for each of the two teams involved. The refs will be hearing a thousand cheers and a thousand boos, on practically any given call. It’s obvious where I am going with this, and I don’t think that scenario will ever change. So now comes the 21st century technology into play with some team sports: video replay. Professional and college football, and certain parts of basketball, have adopted the video replay. In Major League Baseball this spring, the video replay will be used, but in an experimental stage for spring training games, as a solution for questionable calls during the preseason of the Grapefruit League. Do sports need video replay to overrule the officials and maybe make them look incompetent? I feel something is getting lost with that idea. Athletics is about action and reaction in game situations. The officials are human beings who are part of that reaction and judgment calls, which in my opinion are part of the game. Coach Boeheim made a judgment, a decision to fly out onto the basketball court in protest of Greene’s call. Forcing Greene into making another decision and judgment call that resulted in two technical fouls and the ejection of Boeheim. That kind of thing happens in games. There is no time for DNA testing. It is what it is. It’s what makes the design of sports part of the human character. There is no such thing as perfection in sports, just a quest for competition on a playing field. There will be mistakes and good plays. It’s to be expected. Was coach Boeheim wrong? Sure, hindsight always has 20/20 vision. Or, did Greene make a bad call? What happened on the floor at Cameron is what makes college basketball as unpredictable as it should be, which is probably the biggest part of any sport. It’s a game, and that can’t have a script because a game is when a group of human beings are demonstrating how imperfect sports can be. Never is there a definitive outcome. The mathematics don’t add up. In team sports, or any sport, the answer will never fit the equation because, unlike math, the answer is never going to be the same. In the sports world, what evolves is generally from the judgment and roles of those who are taking part in the process. Why change that? This is what makes it exciting; Boeheim and Greene’s interaction has been part of this scenario since the beginning of mankind’s hunger to compete. Let the chips fall where they may. Sporting events have always been about the human experience. There will always be pros and cons with bias opinions, during and after a game. Athletics will always evolve as games of chance and because of that, no matter what the odds might be, anybody, or any team, can win. We don’t need playbacks to change the results. We need the results to be unchanged— it’s a game, you can’t go back to change what has already happen. There is no time travel in the world of sports, at least not to create a change for a different result. Game over! What was the result of the Duke/Syracuse game? Duke 66, Syracuse 60, ref’s calls, baskets made, coaches’ rants, fans reactions. Yes, that’s the way it’s meant to be.