I'm not making this up.
The New York Times has a story today about a study that shows racial bias in referees' foul-calling at N.B.A. games.
A coming paper by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell University graduate student says that, during the 13 seasons from 1991 through 2004, white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players.
Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics, found a corresponding bias in which black officials called fouls more frequently against white players, though that tendency was not as strong. They went on to claim that the different rates at which fouls are called "is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew assigned to the game."
There aren't many black referees in basketball. Period. And if becoming an NBA referee is as difficult as becoming an umpire or a football referee, there may not be many for years to come. This is primarily due to the training and promotion system of most major sports.
I'm not quite sure what the point of this study was, other than to give Pistons and Lakers fans more things to complain about. Several coaches quoted in the story say they feel the referees are fair and impartial. That's the way it should be. If we want to be a color-blind society (and we should), then we have to stop trying to find racism in every situation.
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