Copy of letter to Commissioner Stern

[snoopy1@xxxxxxx]

TO: dstern@nba.com

Mr. Stern:

I'm writing to formally complain about the actions instigated by the 
referees Sean Corbin, Ken Maurer, and Scott Wall in the December 11, 2002 
game that took place at the Fleet Center in Boston, where the Celtics 
played the Phoenix Suns.

Throughout the game, it became clear that the Phoenix players were allowed 
to commit fouls against Boston players without penalty, whereas the reverse 
did not hold true.  Then, in the third quarter, the injury that the fans 
who were watching were afraid of occourred with 9:14 remaining.  Paul 
Pierce was fouled hard and ended up hitting the floor face first.  It is 
still not certain he didn't suffer a concussion.

Yet, no foul was called against the Phoenix defender.

I grant you, every fan--myself included--has a certain amount of hometown 
bias.  But this display by the officials was the most glaring example of 
either incompetence or bias that I've seen in over three decades of 
watching the game.  This goes far beyond any rational chance of it being a 
biased perspective, when a player hits the ground bleeding and the only 
foul called is against the Celtics Coach Jim O'Brien for being rightly 
furious at the display of poor officiating culminating in the injury to Pierce.

The cumulative effect of the "work" done by the officials was to 
essentially ensure that the Phoenix Suns won a game they didn't earn at the 
expense of the integrity of the game.  I do not blame the Suns.  I blame 
the officials, and firmly believe that the matter should be investigated, 
and the result of the game nullified due to the interference by the officials.

I have, via the membership of several NBA-related lists and my own website, 
encouraged my fellow fans to contact the NBA League offices to register 
their objections to the events in that game.

The NBA has tacitly allowed much greater physical contact--as exampled by 
the last time Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers managed to get a slap on the 
wrist after committing aggravated assault and battery.  This has gone to 
ridiculous extremes, and it has to stop.  Does someone have to get crippled 
or killed to call the games properly?  And what of the negative effect on 
the League standings?  The Suns now have a "win" they didn't earn, while 
the Celtics have a "Loss" they didn't deserve.

In addition to the problem of overly physical play, stands the ethical 
question of just how badly the League will fare if the results are not 
perceived as honest ones.  To my mind, regardless of the "official" record, 
I do--at the very least--consider this game to be either A) an unresolved 
tie to be completed at a future date; or B) a Celtics victory and a Suns loss.

And that's unfortunate, when the players aren't permitted to decide the 
matter for themselves because the officials are obviously not doing their 
jobs properly.

I await a specific response when you have reviewed this matter.