Anti-Raider conspiracy theorists may not be far off

October 29, 8:46 PMOakland Raiders ExaminerPatrick Patterson

Previous Next

12 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Oakland Raiders Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

For years, the Raider Nation has had a persecution complex when it comes to NFL officiating. Whether it was the Louis Murphy non-touchdown in the opening game or the "tuck rule" in January 2002, there are calls going against the Raiders where the officials pull invoke an obscure sub section from the rule book that seems counter-intuitive. This has created a culture of conspiracy theorists inside of the Raider Nation blaming everything from Al Davis's battles with the NFL and Pete Rozelle to the patriotic fervor of post 9/11 America.  These fans were often marginalized as homers looking for excuses, but with the excerpts from Tim Donaghy's book Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA that were released today through deadspin.com, suddenly these fans accusations seem more plausible.

The officials huddle up during the Saints-Jets game earlier this season
(AP Photo/ Bill Haber)

Tim Donaghy is a disgraced NBA referee who is currently serving time for gambling on basketball games, so his credibility is shaky, but his allegations are direct and pointed. Deadspin reported that the publisher he had contracted for his tome had thoroughly fact checked his allegations before they agreed to publish. However, after the NBA brought threatened to send the press to a full court, Random House decided to withhold publication to avoid a lengthy and costly law suit.

In his book, Donaghy alleges that the officials played favorites, as well as used their whistles and calls to manipulate the games, often at the league's behest.

To illustrate a point that was already widely believed, he writes, "If a player of Kobe's stature collides with the likes of Raja Bell, the call will almost always go for Kobe and against Bell. As part of our ongoing training and game preparation, NBA referees regularly receive game-action video tape from the league office. Over the years, I have reviewed many recorded hours of video involving Raja Bell. The footage I analyzed usually illustrated fouls being called against Bell, rarely for him. The message was subtle but clear — call fouls against the star stopper because he's hurting the game."

(To read the rest of the explosive excerpts, click here.)

While the easy answer would be to brush this off as the ramblings of a shamed man, or point out the obvious in that he is talking about basketball, it would not be much of a stretch seeing this line of thinking bleed into the other major league sports, including the National Football League.

For one thing, the NFL has probably the most convoluted rule book in the history of organized team sports. Rather than simplifying the rule book so it would be more transparent to fans and thus eliminating many of the conspiracy theories. Instead, each new edition only adds new rules and each new rule gives the officials that much more control they exert over the final outcome.  Any time the officials go under the hood to review a play, there is a chance that rather than just determine whether or not a foot touched the sideline as would be expected, they often overanalyze the play and overturn the call based upon a rule that no one had heard of before.

Besides the obvious times with the replay, it is easy for the officials to make more subtle calls during the game that keep the flow working towards one team or the other. All it would take would be a defensive holding to override a crucial third down stop, or an offensive holding to set a team back to third and unmanageable. Any of these calls could change the tone of any game at any time, and there is an old adage that states that holding could be called on every play. This gives the officials the ability to be subjective when they call it.

This is not to blame the Raiders woes on the officiating. The officials don't dictate whether or not Russell can put a pass on target. They have taken away two touchdowns thus far this season. The Louis Murphy catch that was overturned on replay in week one was a game changing call. Against the Eagles, Stanford Routt had an interception return for a touchdown taken back on a ticky tack pass interference penalty, but the Raiders were able to overcome and win the game.

The NFL should be more transparent in their rules. They should also stick to the standard of  "irrefutable visual evidence" before they overturn a play when they are under the hood. They also need a commission that has a strong degree of independence to monitor the officiating. The league office policing themselves gives the appearance that they are covering their own backsides.

The commission could consist of fans, retired players, and retired officials. They would randomly select two or three crews every week. By choosing randomly every week, each crew has to be on their guard. This group would then watch the full coach's tapes of the selected games and note where the calls were right and where they were wrong. If that official didn't meet a high standard, (It is not realistic to expect 100%) then they would be examined much more closely, and if it was ongoing they would be subject to a full investigation by the security department.

This is not alleging that the NFL and the officials are corrupt, but the assertions from Donaghy raise questions for all major sports. The would be wise to be proactive in showing the fans that games are called down the middle as they should be.

 Could the officials be the ones called instead of a restaurant?

For more info: Check out  RaiderNews.com for the latest on the Oakland Raiders.

You can also find Patrick Patterson on Thoughts from the Dark Side.