Re: Copy of letter to Commissioner Stern

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Snoopy:

Why didn't I think of those words. I faxed and emailed the following:

Mr. Stern:

I've been a fan of basketball since the Cousy days. Never have I seen the
incompetence of  officiating the likes of this game. Shamefully inadequate.
Calls were 33/9 Phoenix. Do us a favor and watch this game and make an
assessment.

Dan Forant Sr

----- Original Message -----
From: <snoopy1@pig.net>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>; <Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 10:35 PM
Subject: Copy of letter to Commissioner Stern


> 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.