Posted on 05/02/2007 10:33:35 AM PDT by GSWarrior
NEW YORK - An academic study of NBA officiating found that white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players, The New York Times reported in Wednesday's editions.
The study by a University of Pennsylvania assistant professor and Cornell graduate student also found that black officials called fouls more frequently against white players than black, but noted that that tendency was not as pronounced.
Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at Penn's Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics, said the difference in calls "is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew."
The study, conducted over a 13-season span through 2004, found that the racial makeup of a three-man officiating crew affected calls by up to 4 1/2 percent.
The NBA strongly criticized the study, which was based on information from publicly available box scores, which show only the referees' names and contain no information about which official made a call.
"The study that is cited in the New York Times article is wrong," president of league and basketball operations Joel Litvin told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "The fact is there is no evidence of racial bias in foul calls made by NBA officials and that is based on a study conducted by our experts who looked at data that was far more robust and current than the data relied upon by Professor Wolfers.
"The short of it is Wolfers and Price only looked at calls made by three-man crews. Our experts were able to analyze calls made by individual referees."
Litvin said the NBA's study, using data from November 2004 to January 2007, included some 148,000 calls and included which official made each call. The Times said the NBA denied a request by Wolfers and Price to obtain that information, citing its confidentiality agreement with the officials.
The study also found differences in everything from a decrease in scoring to a rise in turnovers depending on the officials' race.
"Player-performance appears to deteriorate at every margin when officiated by a larger fraction of opposite-race referees," Wolfers and Price wrote.
But the key finding was in regard to foul calls, saying "black players receive around 0.12-0.20 more fouls per 48 minutes played (an increase of 2 1/2-4 1/2 percent) when the number of white referees officiating a game increases from zero to three."
The NBA has an observer at each game and closely monitors its officials, who are required to file reports after each game they work and are expected to be able to explain each potentially controversial call they have made.
Litvin said in an original version of the paper, dated March 2006, Wolfers and Price came to the conclusion that there was no bias. He added that the NBA's research "all prove beyond any doubt in our minds that these guys are just flat wrong."
"They reached conclusions in their own papers that are unsupported by their own calculations," Litvin said.
Wolfers and Price are set to present the paper at meetings of the Society of Labor Economists on Friday and the American Law and Economics Association on Sunday. The Times said they will then submit it to the National Bureau of Economic Research and for formal peer review before consideration by an economic journal.
We know, it's posted every ten minutes.
No, it’s not satire but it’s been posted several times today.
Conservatives bashed their own instead and payback is a female dog, FReepers.
Note to self: expand search parameters.
This is a lie. There aren’t any white players in the NBA.
Basketball suck and the NBA is worthless. Why watch that crap. Professional athletes are absolutely the worst of humanity
How many professional athletes do you know?
“In a related study, academic “experts” have determined that American NHL referees called penalties at a greater rate against Canadian players than against non-Canadian players.
The study by a pointy-headed university professor and a clueless liberal graduate student also found that Canadian referees called penalties more frequently against U.S. players than their own countrymen, but noted that this tendency was not as pronounced.”
There is nothing redeeming in a life spent as a professional athlete. Tehy are little more than actors in the circus’s
Yachting officiating by blacks against caucasian yachtsmen is BIASED..! Polo players, too...
I was a varsity athlete in HS and college and a bruiser on the playground. I have no use for professional athletes or the games they play
This is an outrage.....
(significant sarcasm.....)
Al and Jesse: I’m with you both. Let’s boycott the NBA.
I am, as Yogi Berra once said, “Shocked and amazed but, not really suprised” at what is deemed “news” these days.....
RLTW
This is somebody that has way too much time on their hands at work’s idea of getting their boss to look at them............
Not sure what you're trying to say here, but I certainly agree with you about Shaq.
Until we see a comparative study of “no-calls” by race, this means nothing.
Can’t believe anyone would even want to investigate this issue. Have any NBA players complained that they’re not getting the calls because officials are white or black? Where do Hispanic and Oriental players come out on this? Are they more likely to have fouls called against them by white or black officials? How silly!!
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