Reinforcing Respect

The other week in the NBA, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers jogged back from a play where he missed a shot and pouted to the referee. He pointed directly into the face of the official and no doubt said something personal to the official; however, the referee made no call at all. I was sitting there stunned; I had become frozen to the seat of my couch because the official took the abuse of some so-called role model. I do not pretend to like Kobe Bryant, nor do I pretend to know what the officials in the NBA are told to call. I simply look at a play in which another official was disrespected by a “superstar” athlete for millions of adoring fans to see. I believe this to damage the entire profession of basketball officiating and to put asunder upon the name of all good officials who would “T” up a two-bit hood for being so blatantly disrespectful.

These overpaid babies in the NBA whine over the millions of dollars they make per year, claiming that they have a family to feed; right Sprewell? Each and every call a referee makes is a personal attack on them, not a personal foul against the other team! It is absolutely ludicrous to think that what reactions these players have on the court to officials and to each other does not spill over into the public. Kids today are mimicking their heroes of the hardwood, the Allen Iversons, the Kobe Bryants…the stars of the league. Right! There was a day in the league where integrity and honor abounded, players complained when there was blood dripping from their forehead, not a slap on the hand. The garbage that happens today is just making me tune out and find a new source of entertainment.

I had to officiate grade five children the other day at a middle school and I did the game solo. Right at the point where one boy harshly fouled another and then went after him, bumping chests and egging him on to fight, was when I had another look at the influence of the NBA. Fights, disrespect, garbage, this is what children have to model themselves after on the basketball court. It is sad that a person who is good and charitable is often overlooked in the media for a sensationalized athlete without an ounce of respect for himself or others. I know I sound angry, I know I sound callous and morose, but how are we as officials supposed to get respect on a court when our so called professional peers are taking crap from a person who just barely got off the hook for allegedly raping a girl in Colorado? How do children learn today from creeps and high rollers? I have many questions and I make up the answers on the court as I go along. I gave a technical foul to that kid and made his coach remove him from the game and talk to him. After all, how are children to learn from a television that being disrespectful to opposing team members and officials reflects back upon themselves, their coaches, their teammates and their parents and family members. Children can think for themselves, but there is responsibility that we all must take in the raising of them. We can no longer depend upon responsible, respectable role models in our society today. Make the right call.

David