Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Friday, May 19, 2006, Washington Post

The Complain Game

The National Basketball Association playoffs are heating up. That means big games, buzzer-beating baskets and players and coaches complaining about referees.

The Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers played a classic back-and-forth playoff series that the Cavaliers won in six games. But much of the back-and-forth between the Wizards and the Cavaliers didn't happen on the basketball court. The Wizards' coach and players complained that the referees let Cavaliers superstar LeBron James take an illegal extra step (traveling) during one of his game-winning shots.

Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said James didn't travel. The Cavs complained that the referees called more fouls on their team than on the Wizards.

The Wizards and the Cavs are not the only ones whining about calls. Indiana Pacers star Jermaine O'Neal complained so much about the refs that the NBA fined him $15,000. Miami Heat superstar Shaquille O'Neal got fined $25,000 for his complaining. Another Heat player, Udonis Haslem, was suspended for a game when he tossed his mouth guard at a referee after what Haslem thought was a bad call.

Referees are human. They make mistakes. But no player or coach ever complains when a ref makes a mistake that helps his team. The players and coaches complain about calls to try to get the refs to make calls in their favor in the future.

I think all this complaining sets a terrible example. Kids and coaches see the pros yelling at refs and think complaining is "part of the game."

Calls by the referees and umpires should be treated like the weather -- something you can't do anything about. Besides, the calls -- good or bad, fair or unfair -- probably even out in the end. So forget about complaining, and concentrate on the things in the game you can control, such as your performance on the basketball court.

Believe me, more games are won by teams hustling and playing their best than are lost by bad calls. Maybe the Wizards would still be in the playoffs if they had spent more time playing tough defense against the Cavaliers and less time arguing with the referees.

The complaining has been so bad in this year's NBA playoffs that Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley, who usually does plenty of complaining, told his team to forget the referees and just play ball. Riley told his team, "Stop it! It's not [the referees], it's us, okay? And it's the opposition. So stop looking at somebody else and being a victim."