Michael Ventre

Dictatorships don’t work.

Benito Mussolini and his mistress found that out the hard way, as resistance fighters shot them and then dangled them in a town square by their feet.

Saddam Hussein lived large for many years, but ultimately was found cowering in a spider hole. He was tried and then hanged as enemies taunted him.

I’m not putting Joey Crawford in the same category, mind you. Capital punishment would be a tad harsh for an NBA referee who challenges a player to fight. But in the realm of law and order in pro basketball, Crawford had amassed an unusual amount of power, and he wielded it with impunity.

Yet almost all dictators get their just desserts, and Crawford got his Tuesday from the league office when it informed him that there would be no dessert. Specifically, it suspended him from the most appetizing part of the season for his actions Sunday involving Tim Duncan of the Spurs.

When it comes to their officials, the major sports leagues do a pathetic job of policing their people. The actions of referees certainly are reviewed by their superiors, but usually the punishments are relatively mild and often involve the yanking of plum assignments.

This was much different. The NBA dropped the hammer on Crawford, suspending him “indefinitely,” which in this case will be at least through the 2007 postseason. Said commissioner David Stern in a statement about the spat with Duncan: “Joey Crawford’s handling of this situation failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees.” He went on to say that the action was taken “in light of similar prior acts by this official.”

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That last part is a little silly, because just about every official has committed similar “prior acts.” No matter how much the NBA insists that its officials strive for the highest level of impartiality and fairness, the fact remains that there are almost as many vendettas in pro basketball as there has been during the full run of “The Sopranos.”

Crawford simply was more transparent about it than most. After he handed out a technical foul to Duncan during the Mavericks-Spurs game, the player went to his bench and laughed. Crawford took that as an affront and, in an unguarded moment, yelled, “Do you want to fight?”

What Crawford failed to understand is that everything is out in the open these days. Perhaps in another era, when men were men and microphones and cameras weren’t lined along every square foot of sideline, Crawford might have been able to get away with such a taunt. But nowadays, when a referee spits, “Do you want to fight?” at a player, it’s not only immediately discussed by the broadcasters doing the game, it’s all over the Internet in a matter of seconds.

It became Crawford’s “Gotcha!” moment. But this type of thing happens all the time. Maybe such incidents aren’t quite so blatant, and therefore not picked up on by the national media. But referees are biased. Period.

They’re biased because they’re human.