Head coaches in any major sport often have problems when it comes to criticizing the officials in a game. While players and coaches alike have both been known to openly question poor decisions by referees, it often leads to some sort of punishment. According to former NBA commissioner David Stern, one coach that he wishes he was harder on was Phil Jackson.
Speaking to News Day’s Neil Best, Stern revealed that he regrets not being tougher on Jackson in the 1990s, specifically when the legendary head coach would complain about referees. “Phil got away with murder,” he said. “If I had it to do over again, I would suspend him.”
During the 1990s, and especially during the Knicks and Bulls battles of that time, both Pat Riley and Phil Jackson would often criticize the referees after losses. Both men would sometimes go as far as to say that the league itself was hoping to get longer playoff series out of the Bulls after a loss.
According to Stern, he believes this led to fans questioning the integrity of the officials, something that obviously doesn’t bode well for the league as a whole. “I think that contributed to fans questioning the authenticity and integrity of the referees,” he said. “They didn’t mean to; they were just pushing the way coaches do.”
While it’s unlikely that suspending or fining the men even more would have resulted in much – both men are very outspoken – it does speak a bit to how the league thinks on these issues. While players and coaches are allowed to speak their mind, it seems as if the league doesn’t want fans losing faith in officiating, at least to the degree that Jackson alluded to. Nowadays, the NBA is much faster in cracking down on critiques of its officials, something that continues to happen to this day.
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