Media Coverage of NBA Officiating

[BrickJames]

ESPN has no credibility. This is the same discussion as a year ago when the steroids in baseball story was blown up - but not because of the work of reporters. They have no interest in real journalism, it's all about "Who's Now??!!?!?!" Instead of trying to dig into the story, half of ESPN's reporters merely tossed the issue aside. 

I expect more of the same as it pertains to the Donaghy scandal. These guys have as many sources in the league as anyone but refuse to utilize them to uphold their journalistic responsibilities. Instead we get fluff pieces on Kobe's happy family life with his ugly kids and a quick dismissal of Donaghy from David Stern without any real questions.

So what do you guys do if you want real journalism on the league? Who's doing it?

Or do you just accept that it's not out there? (no judgement implied).

FG/.

New-media journalism is non-organized, rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness...aka blogs and forums 

[Schupac]

Didn't Tom Brady call ESPN MTV without the music videos, or something like that?  I think he's right.

I'm glad this is getting attention, but I do think it's the wrong kind. This is a perfect opportunity to force the NBA to address the poor/inconsistent officiating, but instead the attention is focused on the more sensationalist Donaghy story. The inconsistency game to game drives me nuts, but I really do not think these games are "fixed" in that sense.

Wait wait... isn't MTV MTV without the music videos?

I have to be honest - Donaghy isn't exactly shedding light on something unheard of.  Anyone who watched game 6 of the Sacramento-LA series knew something wasn't right.  It wasn't that it was JUST bad, or JUST lopsided, but the second half of that game was so clearly officiated to benefit one team, we don't need some disgraced ref to tell us.  There were phantom calls and criminal no-calls all favoring one team.  It's too much to be a simple coincidence.

What's most aggravating about the whole situation is Sinister Stern's repeated refusal (alliteration much?) to address this situation.  Instead he just acts as if the very mention of it is so preposterous as not to merit any disussion.  It's a flimsy defense, designed to get around even having to look at the facts.

I don't know or care if Donaghy has any real inside knowledge.  What I am escstatic about is that this allegations at least mean Stern can't poo-poo the very valid suspicions that these games aren't all on the up and up.

I don't honestly believe Darth Stern sits on a throne of skulls in a candle lit room commanding his referee minions to fix games.  But I do very much believe the league offices give guidelines to how certain games should be handled and how certain players should be treated.  "Star Treatment" was not the invention of a referee, because if someone sells 10 jersey's or 10 million, they get paid the same.  It had to be the invention of someone with (not literally stocks... more personal investment) in the NBA.

/rant off

[bandonox]

there is a growing mass of individuals that are not ignoring this....
this morning on SC they actually spend a good 5 minutes detailing the allegations and matching them up to the events... and calling them into question.
don't be surprised if you see a show like "outside the lines" do a piece on this soon....
they tackle pretty much everything... a few weeks ago, during the cleveland series they did a 15 minute piece on Lebron's neutral stance on Darfur.. while all his teammates signed a petition .. he did not, citing that he "didn't know enough about the situation"...when it was clear it was about money and the nba's image (and his own)....

[iowa plowboy]

Anybody with Smith and Hill on staff has no credibility.

But if any station wants to broadcast the NBA, they're not going to weigh in affirmatively on this.

ESPN has become a caracature of it's commercials.

I'm embarassed every time I listen to these two.  I mute steven I smith every time I hear his voice or simply change the station.  jamele hill is a blithering idiot.  There should be captions when she blithers so her dialect is understandable.  These two are an utter embarassment.  As a slightly more than casual fan, I'd like to think that the people paid to know know slightly more than I do.  Jamele Hill and steven i smith are to sports commentary what Forest Gump is to rocket science.  Every time these two speak, ESPN loses more credibility as a source for accuracy in sports news.

ESPN and ABC obviously can't comment on Donaghy if they want to continue to be profitable....Unless they're going to mimmick what is coming out of Stern's mouth...Unless, of course they're wanting to lose the NBA gig.

ESPN/ABC/Disney is one of the biggest companies in the world.  They are about making money, not disseminating truth or objective commentary.

Good post.   Speaks for itself. 

Pretty good article by Ryan. 

Same rules apply to everybody.  Problem solved instantly.  This is probably the easiest problem in the history of problems to solve.  Stern had his opportunity to solve this problem immediately after the Donaghy arrest.  It wouldn't discredit Donaghy's allegations that came up this week.  But it would have  solved the problem moving forward from the arrest.  Instead, this season has been worst.  Star calls are more obvious.  It gives the impression that the games are fixed whether they are or not.