On This Day
Study Finds Racial Bias in NBA Officiating
by
findingDulcinea Staff
A recent study of NBA players’ statistics suggests that referees call more fouls on players of a different race than themselves, prompting the NBA to issue a fierce refusal of these findings and raising the broader issue of racism in professional sports.
30 Second Summary
NBA officiating is racially biased, according to a recent academic report.
University of Pennsylvania assistant professor Justin Wolfers and Cornell University graduate student Joseph Price have completed a study that they say reveals a racial bias in how referees officiate professional basketball games.
By analyzing every game’s box score over a 13-season period through 2004, the two men found that the racial composition of the officiating crew influenced foul calls by up to 4.5 percent.
The NBA has criticized the study, refuting it with a study of its own that NBA commissioner David Stern said is “more powerful, more robust, and demonstrates that there is no bias.”
However, the NBA recently offered Wolfers the chance to review the data they’ve collected, and he contends that it only confirms his original findings.
The study stresses that it does not imply intentional racial bias, but should be seen as part of a growing body of studies examining elements of subconscious racism known as “implicit association.”
Whether the report finds credence in the athletic community or not, the controversy’s drawn renewed attention to the racial history of professional sports, even as baseball finishes celebrating Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier.
University of Pennsylvania assistant professor Justin Wolfers and Cornell University graduate student Joseph Price have completed a study that they say reveals a racial bias in how referees officiate professional basketball games.
By analyzing every game’s box score over a 13-season period through 2004, the two men found that the racial composition of the officiating crew influenced foul calls by up to 4.5 percent.
The NBA has criticized the study, refuting it with a study of its own that NBA commissioner David Stern said is “more powerful, more robust, and demonstrates that there is no bias.”
However, the NBA recently offered Wolfers the chance to review the data they’ve collected, and he contends that it only confirms his original findings.
The study stresses that it does not imply intentional racial bias, but should be seen as part of a growing body of studies examining elements of subconscious racism known as “implicit association.”
Whether the report finds credence in the athletic community or not, the controversy’s drawn renewed attention to the racial history of professional sports, even as baseball finishes celebrating Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier.
Headline
Wolfers and Price’s study not only accounts for factors like players’ positions, playing time, and their status as an All Star, but also takes into account the fact that there are more African American players in the league than any other ethnic group.
Source: The New York Times
Justin Wolfers has been allowed to look at the data collected by the NBA’s own internal study, and rather than proving that the league’s officiating is bias-free, he says their data “agrees with our own conclusion: A referee is more likely to blow the whistle and call a foul against a player of another race.”
Source: ESPN
Reactions
The NBA responded to the New York Times’ report about the study with anger. League president of basketball operations Joel Litvin said “the story is based upon a paper that is flat-out wrong in its conclusions, and we're disappointed that they ran the story this way.”
Source: ESPN
NBA commissioner David Stern criticized the study reported in the New York Times, calling the charges of racial bias a “bum rap,” and saying that “racism doesn’t exist in the NBA.”
Source: The International Herald Tribune
NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James both said they’ve never experienced racial bias in the league’s officiating. “I think I’ve gotten more [technical fouls] from black refs than white refs,” Bryant joked.
Source: ESPN
The Mixing Memory blog from ScienceBlogs.com offers a scientific look at the methodology and conclusion of the report. This blogger writes that the report’s findings suggest that “explicit biases are not necessary to produce real-world effects -- in this case, effects on players' performance and even the outcome of games and seasons.”
Source: ScienceBlogs.com
Statisticians at the Columbia University Statistics Department discuss the paper’s strengths and weaknesses on a school forum.
Source: The Columbia University Statistics Department
Opinions
Fox Sports columnist Kevin Hench offers his less-than-supportive opinion of Wolfers and Price’s report: “Are you freakin' kidding me . . . Justin Wolfers and Joseph Price are colossal idiots. And their schools should be embarrassed.”
Source: Fox Sports
ESPN writer Lester Munson asks “What if these economists are right?” In response, Munson offers a number of suggestions for addressing the issue, starting with “eliminating single-race officiating crews.”
Source: ESPN
Related Topics
Project Implicit provides an online test designed to identify a person’s sub-conscious biases like the ones highlighted in the NBA study. Provided by Harvard University, the site offers tests on a number of issues including race, sexuality, religion and gender.
Source: Harvard
The NBA’s officiating has seen its fair share of controversy recently after referee Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely for challenging Tim Duncan to a fight during a game.
Source: NBC Sports
Race and racism in the media has also made headlines recently, after CBS fired talk radio host Don Imus after for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hoes” while on the air.
Source: CBS News
In a course offered by Smith College titled “Sport: In Search of the American Dream,” sports studies professor Donald Siegel offers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between race and sports. By examining high-profile incidents of racism like those involving the comments of Al Campanis and Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder, Prof. Siegel offers an in-depth look at the racial stereotypes that pervaded professional athletics.
Source: The Sports Studies Department of Smith College
On October 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd broke basketball’s color barrier by becoming the first African-American to play in an NBA game. Then a forward for the Washington Capitols, Lloyd would go on to become the game’s first African-American bench coach.
Source: The Basketball Hall of Fame
Jackie Robinson broke the color professional baseball’s color barrier in 1947. On April 15, 2007 baseball celebrated the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s momentous achievement by inviting players all over the country to where his famous number 42.
Source: ABC News
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