I spent almost all of Friday afternoon deciphering that racist ref study. What I ended up discovering, with a little help, was that the media has completely misrepresented it. In other words, we got a story about white-on-black discrimination because it was the easiest sell. And was guaranteed to cause the most controversy. That is, if you're talking to the general public. In today's Sam Smith column, Richard Jefferson gives his take on this possibility:
"What if you are half-black, half-white?" Jefferson asked. "Because there is some mix in my family. I wonder how that works. Am I going to be in foul trouble more?"Smith adds his two sense on how far-fetched the whole thing sounds:
I have heard NBA players curse out referees in shocking language, and accuse them of holding grudges. Never-not once-have I ever heard a player complain a referee was racially biased.Back to Jefferson: I know he's joking, but he's got a point about this hardly being a black-and-white issue. In addition to questions of who is what race, there's the ethnicity of the player fouled, which could further complicate things. Though if Jefferson feels he can make light of the whole thing, I'm inclined to trust his first-hand knowledge.
