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Crawford needed to be taken down a notch

NBA right to suspend referee — he was getting too big for his britches

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Journalists are duty bound to be objective, but they’re human, and occasionally some subjective viewpoint might seep into an otherwise  straightforward news account. Judges have an obligation to be fair and unbiased, but they’re human, and it’s only natural that some will allow their personal views to color their interpretation of the law.

Officials are no less human, even though it may seem that way sometimes. Professional sports involve a highly charged, competitive atmosphere in which a lot of money often rides on the outcome of games. Tempers flare. Emotions run high. And refs are in the middle of all that.

They take guff from players all the time. They’re supposed to carefully assess whether a player is letting off an acceptable amount of steam over a call, or whether he’s stepping over a line. They’re trained to do that. And they’re scrutinized — but rarely punished significantly — by the league office.

But over the course of many weeks, many months and many years, a referee will sometimes grow to resent and even hate a player. Poisonous relationships develop in just about every workplace when people determine over the course of time that they don’t like each other. Why would the NBA be any different?

The problem in the past is that the NBA has been in denial about it. Rarely will it admit publicly that a referee has made a mistake, and it’s rarer still when it will acknowledge that a particular striped shirt has a personality clash with a specific player.

  Ask the NBA expert: Sam Smith
Joey Crawford has gained a reputation as one of the finest officials in the game. He knows what he’s doing. He’s good at his job. Stern also pointed that out in the statement he released on Tuesday.

Yet perhaps the intoxicating effects of dictatorial powers finally got to him and he lost it with Duncan, which is a little strange. All NBA stars expect special treatment from the officials; it is their birthright, or at least that’s their take on the topic. For the most part, officials comply. Duncan is a bona fide star, of course, a two-time MVP, but he’s not nearly as demanding, nor does he act as overtly entitled, as most of the elite.

Crawford must not like him.

Tuesday’s suspension is good for the game, but it may be even better for players in similar predicaments. Finally, the players must be thinking, an official is being held accountable for acting like a &%$#@!! Maybe other refs will look at the Crawford suspension and be less inclined to go after a player in similar fashion.

Of course, next season when Crawford works a Spurs game, it may be a little awkward. Crawford may either shift into full revenge mode, or back off Duncan completely. Or Crawford may recruit assistance from a fellow official to stick it to Duncan by proxy.

Who knows what will happen? After all, they’re human. And it’s gratifying to see that the NBA finally gets that.

ALSO ON THIS STORY

Michael Ventre writes regularly for MSNBC.com and is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

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