Making the Call

By Michael C. Jones

If you happened to catch highlights of West Virginia’s home basketball victory against Marquette this season, you undoubtedly saw the last few plays of the very close contest. Two late foul calls led one of the broadcasters to criticize the officiating crew for deciding the outcome of the game. This type of statement brings up a very interesting question: “Why do we see obvious fouls fail to be called at the end of games at every level?” According to Barry Alman, a basketball official since 1973, “Officials are reluctant to become the scapegoat for a team’s loss, and others want to hurry up and go home.” Clearly, this is not the ideal method of officiating. Even an inexperienced official understands the importance of integrity. Once it is compromised, all credibility is lost and the job of the officials becomes exponentially more difficult.

How do officials go about changing the perception of “putting their whistles away” during critical moments of games? First, it starts with effective communication. What is deemed a foul at the beginning of the game; is most certainly a foul in the middle of the game. At the end of the contest, it is critical that the calls be consistent. This is established at the onset of the game when the first few calls are made. Once the coaches and players have an understanding of what constitutes a foul, they will usually adjust their game plans accordingly. In fact, a late play call may even be influenced by how the officials have called the game. Jeff Matuszko, Owner of BOSS Officials notes, “There tends to be a hesitation for a number of reasons, depending on the level of play. I think the number one reason is that most officials do not want to make a call that will decide a close game. They want the players to decide… I really think it depends on the level of play and the ability of the ref.”

As an official, it is important to be demonstrative and an effective communicator while on the court. This is why proper hand signals will continue to be stressed as a cornerstone of good communication. The officials must demonstrate intestinal fortitude to make the right call. When the novice officials learn good mechanics and how to decisively communicate their calls, their confidence will be enhanced. It is at this point, that calls can be made with confidence at any point in a game. If a player commits a foul in the final seconds of a game, it is that player, not the official, deciding the outcome of the game. It is up to the official to make the correct call.