NBA News: Study shows black players whistled more than whites

[hagansp]

I dont know why this is a story...but found it kind of interesting to read.

NEW YORK -- An academic study of NBA officiating found that white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players, The New York Times reported on its Web site Tuesday night.
The study by a University of Pennsylvania assistant professor and Cornell graduate student also found that black officials called fouls more frequently against white players than black, but noted that that tendency was not as pronounced.
Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at Penn's Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics, said the difference in calls "is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew."
The study, conducted over a 13-season span through 2004, found that the racial makeup of a three-man officiating crew affected calls by up to 4 1/2 percent.
The study was based on information from publicly available box scores, which show only the referees' names and contain no information about which official made a call.
"We'll reserve comment until we've had the chance to review the article," NBA spokesman Tim Frank told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.
The Times said the NBA did its own study, and commissioner David Stern was quoted as saying the league's report "demonstrates that there is no bias."
The NBA's study, using data from November 2004 to January 2007, was based on information that included which official made each call. The NBA denied a request by Wolfers and Price to obtain that information, citing its confidentiality agreement with the officials.
Wolfers and Price are set to present the paper at meetings of the Society of Labor Economists on Friday and the American Law and Economics Association on Sunday. The Times said they will then submit it to the National Bureau of Economic Research and for formal peer review before consideration by an economic journal.




ESPN.com - NBA - Report: White refs call more fouls on black players

[doniceage]

4.5 of a percent sounds like a small percentage when your talking about many fouls being called over a game. I would like to see example specifics etc. say 2 white and 1 black call 4.5 percent more foul or less than a white crew or vice versa.

I mean 50 fouls a game would be would be like 2 to 3 fouls. That not a big discrepancy but appears to be minimal.

A nice article but would like to see all the data and facts before I start making any judgement on it validity.

DO
N

[Chuck-17]

I would like to see the breakdown against positions. Most of the Centers and inside paint guys tend to get most of the calls. Lets see how it breaks down vs. position instead of race. How many more black players are there than white players playing inside. If there are more black players in the paint then this could account for the difference.

[Bondsaway]

OK you guys Had to have missed Charles Barkley on ESPN when they asked him about this. It was too funny. First he said the NBA is mostly blacks so who would they be calling fouls on?? Stating that this study was not only stupid but assinine! Give Barkley props for his one liners! But think about it. The scales would be lopsided giving the number of black players to whites in the NBA!

Steve Nash and Dirk better watch out next year the tides will turn. Oh one intersting point of note the league leading foul getter this year is Andrin Biedrins of G.S.. Yea He's a white guy!

[doniceage]

Well next it will be a study done on EJECTIONS (Davis and Jackson) just leading the example. Could be regular season and playoffs.

P.S. I am surprised Rev Al and Jesse are not going to investigate this. I mean they were all over the inequality of the comments on Rutger which was totally uncalled for but if this study has credence I assume something will follow.


DON

[Bondsaway]

According to an analyst on ESPN theres no way to know from the box scoring how the fouls are being called. Plus he added statistics can be manipulated to say anything you want if taking the time to do it. Not my words but his.

[tnopud42]

It seems to me that there are too many variables which this study didn't take into account. As mentioned above, position plays a big part in who gets fouled and who it is called on. However, to me the primary one is who is on the court at any given time. A study in the 90's of NBA teams found that by the end of the decade the basic composition of teams was 80% Black and 20% White. Approximately 15% of starters were White. I would think these percentages are even more extreme today. If you have 10 players, all of whom are Black, on the court at one time, and someone is called for a foul it really has nothing to do with race but rather who is playing at the time. Nor does it have anything to do with the referee; he simply called a foul.

[Bondsaway]

Yeah but what gets me is who is the idiot that dreamed up this little study??? Maybe they should do a study on the adverse effects on society for the homeless. You know something that has real meaning.