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Handle with caution
by Tim O'Sullivan / June 9, 2002

NBA commissioner David Stern has officially expressed support for the use of instant replay. Dave, I have some advice for you, don't do it. We all want to see the right call made, but at what price? Introducing replay is a slippery slope. Maybe it starts being used only at the end of the period, but what constitutes the end of a period? The last 10 seconds? The last minute? Why not the last five minutes? Why not the entire game?

The slope gets more slippery when discussing what will be reviewable. Maybe it starts that only buzzer-beating shots are reviewable. So, if you can review shots coming at the end of the game clock, or period clock, then why not at the end of the shot clock? Maybe it slips further into reviewing whether or not a player is out of bounds or beyond the three point line or in the circle beneath the basket or in the lane for three seconds.

The charge or block call is universally acknowledged as the toughest call to make, the call where the most judgement is required. Yet television analysts always want to look at the replay before declaring whether or not the ref made the right charge or block call. Once replay is introduced, what's to stop fans, coaches and owners from demanding that all the calls, even the most difficult ones, be reviewable, just like the analysts do it?

At first, games might last only a few minutes longer because of the time needed to review plays. But as the number of reviewable plays increased, and it would, so too would the games. It's good NBA games only take two hours. In order to watch a baseball or football game you have to sign over most of your weekend. Lengthening NBA games in any way would be a major marketing gaffe.

More than in any other sport, basketball officials are asked to make judgement calls. On every possession, on every dribble, on every shot there is a judgement to be made. Was that a hand check? Charge or block? Travel or superstar steps? Offensive foul or Shaq being Shaq?

It would be unnatural to take that judgement away from the referees during the closing moments of a game, which are usually the deciding moments as well. It was obvious during NFL games that referees became more hesitant when replay was in use. They knew big brother was watching. They knew they didn't have to make the right call because the replay would. How can we expect NBA officials to not be influenced in the same way? Instant replay undermines the referee's authority and accuracy.

When the game is on the line, the refs should be their sharpest and not looking over their shoulder at some monitor. The refs should be honing that sharpness throughout the course of the game, getting a feel for what the
players are doing, how the game is being played, who is being physical and who isn't. And at the end, when all the money is on the table, officials should be allowed to use their trained eyes and their trained minds to make
the critical calls without worrying about the judgement of the all-seeing eye.

Refereeing is all about interpretation. Different officials have different styles. This adds a twist to every game. It contributes to basketball's artistic, improvisational fabric that is at the heart of the game's beauty. If replay is introduced, it will seek to homogenize the referees and thus the game. A consistently called game is vital, but it doesn't have to be identical from official to official. Let the refs have their style, as long as it stays consistent, it adds to the overall style of the association.

During an interview on Sporting News Radio, Stern said the league "very much likes our rule changes." He was primarily referring to the elimination of the illegal defense rule. "I think that allowing any defense threw some spice into it," continued Stern.

I would agree. But David, beware, it is possible to over-season your game. Throwing replay into the pot might push your soup over the top.

Tim O'Sullivan is a staff writer at the Concord (NH) Monitor and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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