Both the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets have been complaining about the officiating of their games and it’s getting old.
We have all seen it before. Complaints about the referees are something that has been around in sports since they began. However, professional players should be held at a higher standard. What the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are doing is a bad look for everybody.
While many Warriors fans might think the Rockets are the only ones complaining, it is important to note that the Dubs have been on this side of the table as well. Many remember the uproar after Draymond Green‘s 2016 suspension and we have all seen Andre Iguodala cry to the referees quite a few times.
This, of course, is not to mention the clash the Warriors had with the referees after a highly controversial ending to their regular season game with the Minnesota Timberwolves this season.
As for the Rockets, they are taking things to a whole new level. Many players have taken their criticism public while the front office has recently filed an audit of the officials that refereed Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
Now, this article isn’t to argue who is right and who is wrong. In fact, we won’t even discuss if the referees are actually being biased towards anyone. Rather, this article is to point out how useless this entire argument is in the first place.
There has never been a time in NBA history where a complaint from a player has reversed a call. Furthermore, we will never see a day where a win is taken away from a team after an audit is filed against the officials.
Because of this, the back and forth between the players and officials must stop before the respect is completely gone. The players need to focus on what they can control (their performance) and the referees need to keep their ego out of the game. Hopefully, we can soon sit back and enjoy two great teams facing off in the playoffs without the burden of complaints.