these refs are beginning to become just as primadonna-like as some of the players... it's ridiculous... i don't watch an NBA game to have to hear the names of the officials throughout the game because they're T-ing up people left & right... i wanna watch the stars play the game... the refs need to shut the hell up, stay out of the way & call the game, period... the same thing is happening in baseball w/the overly sensitive Umpires too... it's ruining the viewing experience!

the NFL is the only league that has it right.

I LIKE the zero tolerance policy. The players should play and the refs should do their job.

IMHO, this will mostly curb the all-stars from yelling at the refs and intimidating to get a call. Just like hand-checking a couple of years back, in the beginning of the seaon you will see a lot of calls until the players fully comprehend what the rules is.

It's Nazi-like. The refs are often incompetent, yet no one can complain about it. It's another example of Stern playing out his psychological conflicts writ large.

Posted by Rich:

It's Nazi-like. The refs are often incompetent, yet no one can complain about it. It's another example of Stern playing out his psychological conflicts writ large.

Thats a pretty unfair generalization. Yes...some refs are bad, some are good. You can't complain through the press, however there is a internal process. Bad refs get fired....you just don't hear about it.

Problem with fines is that it means very little to guys making tons of money. Why not blame the players? I'm sure they were informed of the rules.

Posted by Andrew:

Posted by Rich:

It's Nazi-like. The refs are often incompetent, yet no one can complain about it. It's another example of Stern playing out his psychological conflicts writ large.

Thats a pretty unfair generalization. Yes...some refs are bad, some are good. You can't complain through the press, however there is a internal process. Bad refs get fired....you just don't hear about it.

While I readily acknowledge that I'm generalizing, I have seen far too many horrible calls at critical times in big games to view the situation as being an isolated problem. Nonetheless, regardless, of the frequency, dissent is part of the American ethic, and as long as that dissent doesn't get out of hand, there is no good reason not to permit it when refs make terrible calls. There were already pre-existing rules available to sanction those who break them.

The net result of this new rule, imo, will be to diminish rather than increase respect for NBA officials because the usual result of the imposition of censorship is the psychological phenomenon of reactance.

Posted by Masterplan:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2647613

you guys hear about this? i'm no big chad johnson (excuse me, that's ocho cinco) fan, but i was really surprised he got fined for it.

i think it's justified... the NFL doesn't want their league becoming some joke like the WWE w/players coming out w/altered uniforms just to make themselves stand out... Chad Johnson can be a colorful personality w/o resorting to stupid stunts like putting "Ocho Cinco" on his uniform.

Kenny and Chuck said it best on Inside. This is a very emotional game and sometimes it's just a natural reaction. Personally, I think a warning for the first time should be done instead of the T.

Yeah, this is the Rasheed Wallace Rule, but the refs are far too protected with this thing.

Its terrible, I know they want to clean up the game, but every athlete gets frustrated and sometimes the natural reaction is to get upset, and the refs make terrible judgement calls. Its really going to have to be changed, especially because half of these guys think who the **** they are.....there is going to be a ton of ejections