Do Referees Deserve Harassment?

Do Referees Deserve Harassment?

     Referees in the NBA get harassed by the coaches and players every game. It is their job to not allow that to happen. Do referees deserve to get harassed by the players and coaches?

A referee has to wear a jersey so they 
can be seen

     Refs are the people that control everyday sporting events. Most referees these days can’t go a game without getting yelled at by the players and coaches.


     A referee is an official who watches a game or match closely to ensure that the rules are followed. The refs in the NBA make various calls like fouls, technicals, traveling, carrying and double dribble. A ref has a very tough job. You have to keep up with the play by running up and down the court. They also have to deal with getting harassed by the coaches and players from both teams. Whatever call the ref makes the opposing team could get mad. Sometimes it can just feel like referees cannot make the right calls. With everything they go through, the refs in the NBA (National Basketball Association) get payed from one-hundred thousand to five-hundred fifty thousand in one season (82 games). I asked Kate Cyr if she thought this was an appropriate amount. She says,


“Yeah! They have an easy job!”


    When I asked Todd Muhlheim if the refs in the NBA get paid enough he said,


“Yes, they do get paid enough. Getting yelled at and the pressure to make the correct calls are part of their jobs and they know that when they agree to do it. It is a difficult job but they do get paid a lot of money to do it.”


     There have been many incidents in the NBA of coaches and players that get fined for harassing the referees. On May 22, 2012 the Miami Heat’s coach Erik Spoelstra was fined twenty five thousand dollars. He was criticizing the referees for not calling hits on some of the NBA’s best, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He was also mad after game six on Thursday against the Indiana Pacers that Udonis Haslem was suspended and the Pacer’s Tyler Hansbrough was not. I asked Aliya Mahmoud and Alexa Kerprich if the refs deserve to get yelled at when they mess up. Alexa K said,

Referees use whistles to be heard when 
they make calls

“Yes, because the players get yelled at when they mess up so the refs should be treated the same.”


     Aliya disagreed. She said,


“No, because everyone makes mistakes. Refs can’t see the whole game and you shouldn’t argue because they make the calls.”


     This can go either way but sometimes the referees can cost one team the game. It can be hard to stop yourself from arguing with the ref when the game is coming down to the wire. On April 7, 2010 a missed call cost Oklahoma City the game against the Utah Jazz. OKC was down, with one final shot. Durant pulled up for three. The shot didn’t go. It was a clear foul but the ref missed the foul on the three point shot. If the foul was called Kevin Durant would have got to shoot three foul shots and Oklahoma City could have easily won the game. Instead the referees made a bad call and it cost OKC the game.


     Referees try their hardest every game and every day. No matter what, know that they are giving it their all every game just like the players and coaches competing.

Maddie Muhlheim

Period 5

562 Words