Basketball Part I: “It Was Bad Refereeing”

by Tad Lindley

My friend James had a great post on Facebook today about the challenges that referees face in a 360º playing field. It is a great insight into a tough job where many times half the people in the crowd feel like they could do a better job. Anyway it reminded me of this column from 2006. Thanks to James and all the many refs who make athletics possible.

The team was playing away games. Perhaps they were in a different village or even in Anchorage. Somehow you missed the scores on the games. When you run into a player the first question you ask is, “How did you guys do?”

If they won, you will be in for some play by play action. But if they didn’t win, you will hear a short list of the reasons that they did not win. The number one first reason I have heard over the years is, “It was because of bad refereeing.” Often it is underscored with, “They were all local refs, and they were totally blind.” In a different time and place I once heard a high school basketball coach tell his players and the whole school that the reason that the team had finished in last place was because of bad refereeing.

Reasons for losing I’ve seldom or never heard

•They were better than us.

•They made more baskets than us.

•We missed too many baskets.

•We didn’t train hard enough.

•We are out of shape.

•We made too many fouls.

•We stayed up too late the night before.

Yet the fact of the matter is that, if a game is within 10 points, we could replay it and probably pick up the missed baskets that would have brought victory even if the referees were bad.

“But they really were bad”

If every loss that has been blamed on bad refs was legitimate, it would make basketball seem as rigged as professional wrestling. Yes, there are bad calls made. And yes, referees will be biased in some cases without realizing it. Perhaps we really have played a game in which the referee did not see the foul that caused us to miss the basket at the buzzer. Unless we shot 100% the rest of the game though, the baskets we missed earlier in the game are as much to blame as the referee. If we had made any single one of those, the team would have won.

Whose fault is it?

It sure is easier to blame a loss on somebody else. It is humbling to admit that the other team was better, or that off season laziness caught up to us on the court. This is not unique to basketball. As human beings we have a tendency to blame others instead of accepting responsibility.

Ai- 36, Israel- 0

The Israelites were sure to win. They had sent out their benchwarmers, because Ai was such an easy opponent. Something went wrong. A small band of men made Israel turn and run away. Thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed. It was a humiliating defeat. When they got home, they told Joshua. Joshua and the elders fell on their faces, threw dirt on their heads, and began to blame God (Joshua 7:6-7).

When God rewound the game tape

The Lord told Joshua to get up off of his face. Then in the Coach’s office God had a heart to heart with Joshua. Although they tried to lay the blame on God for their defeat, He would not allow it. He told Joshua the real reason that they lost: “Israel has sinned” (Joshua 7:11). “In the morning Joshua, I want you to get all the people together and we will review the tapes of the battle and see why you lost”.

The game tapes don’t lie

It was not that fourth quarter spirit of fear that overwhelmed Israel. It wasn’t missed fouls and a failure on God’s part. As Joshua began to dissect things the real problem came to light. It was something that happened even before the battle was joined. One of the Israelite soldiers had stolen gold, silver, and clothing during their tremendous victory at Jericho (Joshua 7:20-25). This pre-game greed came back to haunt them at Ai. This failure caused the death of 36 men, and the humiliation of Israel.

It is human nature to blame others. We see it from the Garden of Eden until this day. The fact of the matter is that the majority of our problems are not the referee’s fault, and they aren’t Jesus’ fault. We are to blame.

It was not the teacher that failed us, it was our lack of attendance. It was not OCS that took away our children, it was our drinking. The divorce was not God’s fault, it was human failings. The shrinking dividend didn’t get us into trouble, it was the huge credit card debt we built up in the past.

The greatest hurdle to serving God is being able to admit our errors. As soon as we can quit blaming the Referee, and realize that we lost through our own great thinking and acting, we are on the way to becoming victorious.

Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.

Example: 9075434113