Carmelo Anthony is one of the most respected forwards in the league. Being the No. 3 pick of the 2003 NBA Draft and having consistently improved his game over the course of 15 years, Melo has proven to be a legit veteran of the game.
And that’s why he confidently says that there’s some serious trouble between the players and referees in the NBA. Anthony says that there’s a lot that changed since he entered the league.
In the past, Melo observed that meaningful conversations happened between the player and referee when calls were made. However, this dialogue is slowly vanishing as calls are quickly made without thinking twice.
According to ESPN’s Royce Young, the 10-time NBA All-Star says:
“And now, the trigger is too quick. You look at somebody wrong, you get a technical foul. You say one wrong thing, you get a technical foul. So I think that's the difference from when I came in, the dialogue and communication and the relationship the players and officials (had) when I first came in and from now is a lot different. … Now, the communication is not there.”
The issue became a hot topic this season after LeBron James’ first career ejection and Courtney Kirkland’s forehead bump with Shaun Livingston. In fact, the teams, players, and referees had a meeting last month to discuss the growing criticism referees are getting over controversial calls.
Michele Roberts of the NBPA argues that the players find it wrong to be told to literally “shut up” when disagreeing with a call. However, the NBPA executive director didn’t end with that as she also criticized the technical fouls given to players when addressing officials in-game.
Meanwhile, Anthony thinks that the rules and styles of the game changed. The game is also faster now, that’s why he thinks that players and referees no longer have time to connect with each other.
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