In the NBA, bogus is as bogus does

Los Angeles Lakers head honcho Phil Jackson is the latest in a long line of National Basketball Association coaches to get under the thin skin of the league’s top brass.

Jackson was fined $25,000 for commenting that some of the officials’ calls against the Lakers in game four of the NBA Finals were “bogus.” In addition, the Lakers organization was slapped for another $25,000 for the comment.

That professional coaches and athletes are subject to the intense scrutiny and analysis of the media and public, yet professional officials who can impact games are not, is reaching a boiling point. I pick on the NBA because it seems the most sensitive. A coach or player can’t sneeze in the direction of an official anymore without drawing a fine and reprimand from the league.

After a game, it’s not uncommon for a coach to talk frankly about any particular player, especially if that player missed crucial free throws, made a game-changing turnover or was overly aggressive on the floor. The same holds true for players. In a verbal tirade last year, Shaquille O’Neal burned the Miami Heat and Pat Riley when the big guy questioned Riley’s professionalism.

What’s more outrageous is that, as fans, we seem OK with this double standard — that those who officiate games deserve to be treated as shrinking violets.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown was dinged for $15,000 in February for correctly questioning a game-deciding call (or non-call) in a one-point loss. Then there are some of the biggest offenders, like Nuggets coach George Karl and Houston’s Jeff Van Gundy. In 2005, Karl was fined $80,000 and suspended for two games for publicly criticizing officials, while Van Gundy was hit for $100,000 for doing the same about a playoff game.

Nobody’s advocating that it’s OK to continually harangue officials for the shortcomings of one’s own team. But at the professional level, why muzzle coaches and players from vocalizing their opinions? The belief that somehow this would degrade the integrity of sport is asinine, especially in today’s world of YouTube and instant replay.

Let coaches and players say whatever they want about the officiating of games. Nobody likes a whiner, and those who protest too much will only damage their own credibility. Or, at least loosen up on the severity of what constitutes a finable offense. Saying some calls were “bogus” is hardly a mortal blow to the integrity of the NBA and its corps of officials.

Greg Johnson is a reporter for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.