Joey Crawford deserved better.
Crawford is sitting at home right now. The NBA Playoffs are in full swing and Crawford, who has worked more playoff games than any active official, is on a suspension through at least the NBA Finals.
But don’t count on seeing him officiating again this year. Quite possibly, his NBA officiating career could be over.
And that’s sad.
Crawford gained players’ respect with his quality officiating. He was fair. He was honest. He was emphatic. Crawford made the big calls when a game’s outcome was in doubt. The quality of the 2007 NBA playoffs will suffer from his absence.
All 82 games, players and teams work towards making the playoffs and winning an NBA championship. All that hard work should be rewarded with the best officials available.
Crawford’s suspension resulted from his ejection of San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan in a regular season game with the Dallas Mavericks.
Duncan had complained about a call from the bench and earned a technical foul from Crawford. Duncan started laughing a short time later and for Crawford that was enough for Duncan’s second technical and an ejection.
Later, Duncan revealed what Crawford allegedly said to him.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?’” Duncan said. “If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?’”
Stern suspended him shortly afterwards citing Crawford’s “improper conduct” and “inappropriate comments made to Duncan during the game.” Crawford had prior problems with his temper, and had drawn attention for a 2003 Western Conference Finals game when Crawford gave the Mavericks four technical fouls in the first 10 minutes, which led to ejections of then-coach Don Nelson and assistant coach Del Harris.
Crawford deserved a suspension, just not so severe.
NBA officials, along with officials in the other major sports, are under more scrutiny now than ever before. Today’s age of instant replay, countless sports talk shows and intense media coverage leaves officials’ calls under a close watch.
No longer are the games the sole subject of debate. Sports analysts and fans seem to spend an equal amount of time debating a call’s effect on the game’s result. More emphasis should be placed on what teams did wrong and could have been done differently.
The NBA has already tried to make a point with its players regarding their behavior with a stricter technical foul policy to cut down on player complaints and poor on-court behavior. Now, it seems, the spotlight is being redirected at officials. Officials already have a difficult job. They shouldn’t have to question whether or not to make the big call in close games might result in a suspension or possibly being fired.
Crawford’s ejection of Duncan was questionable. And if he did challenge Duncan to a fight, that’s outright wrong, but by punishing Crawford so severely, it’s only going to make officials more reticent in the future.
I’ve officiated basketball games for the last eight years and have a keen understanding of the challenges and pressure officials face each and every time they don the black and white stripes.
It’s important to have the trust of your bosses above you, whether you make mistakes or have a well-called game. Hopefully the NBA officials still feel that trust.
[email protected]