Flagrant Fouls

Moreso than usual, this year's NBA playoffs has shown some woefully inept refereeing. While the NBA is somewhat known for bad officiating, these playoffs have really sunk to new depths.

The most egregious of which is the handling of Rajon Rondo's foul against Brad Miller in game 5 with 2 seconds left in the game. Here is a copy of the rules concerning a Flagrant Foul in the NBA:

Section IV--Flagrant Foul
a. If contact committed against a player, with or without the ball, is interpreted to be unnecessary, a flagrant foul--penalty (1) will be assessed. A personal foul is charged to the offender and a team foul is charged to the team.

PENALTY:
(1) Two free throws shall be attempted and the ball awarded to the offended team on either side of the court at the free throw line extended.
(2) If the offended player is injured and unable to attempt his free throws, the opposing coach will select any player from the bench to attempt the free throws.
(3) This substitute may not be replaced until the ball is legally touched by a player on the court. (EXCEPTION: Rule 3--Section V--e.)
(4) The injured player may not return to the game.
(5) A player will be ejected if he commits two flagrant fouls in the same game.

b. If contact committed against a player, with or without the ball, is interpreted to be unnecessary and excessive, a flagrant foul--penalty (2) will be assessed. A personal foul is charged to the offender and a team foul is charged to the team.

PENALTY:
(1) Two free throws shall be attempted and the ball awarded to the offended team on either side of the court at the free throw line extended.
(2) If the offended player is injured and unable to attempt his free throws, his coach will select a substitute and any player from the team is eligible to attempt the free throws.
(3) This substitute may not be replaced until the ball is legally touched by a player on the court. EXCEPTION: Rule 3--Section V--e.
(4) The injured player may return to the game at any time after the free throws are attempted.
(5) This is an unsportsmanlike act and the offender is ejected.

c. A flagrant foul may be assessed whether the ball is dead or alive.

I've watched the video for it from a variety of angles and at no time does Rondo go for the ball, which is about 2-3 feet from where Miller's head is located. It has been widely interpreted, and called by refs for the last few years, that any blow to the head of any sort when not going for the ball (and sometimes even when going for the ball) is deemed "unnecessary" (flagrant 1) and oftentimes automatically called as "unnecessary and excessive" (flagrant 2). Rondo made no attempt for the ball, as it was well past him when he initiated the movement that resulted in the blow to Miller's head.

The blow itself, while performed by a smaller man on a much larger man, still managed to result in a bloody mouth for Miller. Was this unnecessary? Definitely-- it appeared to be done with the sole intent of knocking Miller down so he could not make the game tying dunk he was about to achieve. Was it excessive? Rondo (6'1"/170 lbs) hit Miller (7'/270 lbs) hard enough in the head to knock a much bigger man down and bloody his mouth.

For this hard hit, Rondo was simply given a standard (not flagrant) foul. Miller missed the two free throws (some would argue due to the intense pain in his mouth and head after being knocked to the floor), and Chicago lost the game by 2 points. In reviewing the play the next day, the NBA decided Rondo would not receive any further sanctions and his foul would not be upgraded to a flagrant 1 or 2.

Now, obviously, this would have been mitigated had Miller made his foul shots and potentially forced overtime (or made the dunk and the subsequent free throw for the victory). However, the fact that he was hit hard enough not to make either the shot or the free throws says something about how hard this hit was. Had this foul been charged a flagrant, though, the Bulls would have had the free throws PLUS the ball -- and could have tried again to tie or win the game. This (non)call changed the outcome of the game.

The very next game, in the first quarter, Rondo threw an elbow at Kirk Hinrich's head area. The video shows Rondo purposefully throwing that elbow. He was assessed a flagrant foul (1) but stayed in the game. The Bulls went on to scrape a triple overtime victory in the game. I mention this foul as Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic threw a similar elbow at the head area of an opposing player, similarly missed, and was given a flagrant foul (2) and was suspended from playing in the next Magic game -- which the Magic lost. Would the Bulls have needed triple-OT to win that game had Rondo been properly assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected from the game?

The NBA has for years been trying to lessen or eliminate the appearance of bias by the referees. They added the third referee to cut down on "phantom" fouls but, instead, fouls increased. They recently released, fined, and suspended a referee accused of betting on basketball games and did a "thorough" review of all other refs to make sure sports betting wasn't happening. Although some small improprieties were found, no one else was suspended, fined, or held accountable.

Most of my friends and I agree that the following are the main problems:

1. The rules as written are too subjective. They allow for too much interpretation. If you rewrite the rules to be more objective, then the fans, players, and refs all know what equals what. For example, if the rules said "Any strike or attempted strike to the head of any sort is a flagrant foul (2) and automatic ejection for the player initiating the strike" everyone would expect the same punishment for Rondo and Howard -- if it didn't happen in-game, then the NBA would assess it the next day. Writing rules objectively will also likely mean a lot of stupid, tick-tack issues will be written out of the rules (hand-check fouls, 3 second violations, making it so that the person who initiates the contact is the one who is called for the foul, no more different rules for stars/super-stars, will reduce the "thug-like" behavior of many players, etc.).
   
2. Referees need to only call fouls they ACTUALLY see. No more phantom calls or, my favorite, the referee completely blocked from seeing the play calling a foul. Also, fouls slow down the flow of the game; only calling what refs see means the game will be faster as fewer fouls will be called. It will also allow players to get more physical, which is one thing that fans in general seem to want (not violent, just physical; bodying up and playing the game).
3. Having the rules more objective will allow the rules to be called fairly on everyone. No more "classic" shot of Michael Jordan pushing down an opposing player (not called for offensive foul) and making the game winning shot or Reggie Miller kicking a defender and getting a foul call against that defender for contact. Will this mean that star and super star caliber players will have to adjust? Sure. But that's a good thing.
   

In the end, the subjective nature of the officials and the appearance of bias and improper reffing is entirely in the hands of the NBA. It also struggles against the perception that the NBA is filled with players who are a bunch of "thugs." I think it is telling how little they do year-to-year to actually change this perception or change the rules to do away with bad or subjective calls. As long as we keep buying its product, it will keep things as they are.