Open Letter to David Stern (RE: Steve Javie)

by broggerboy19 on Nov 30, 2007 11:16 PM PST Comment 13 comments

It is now a few hours since the game ended and I've calmed down a lot.

But my conviction remains firm: Steve Javie's personal vendetta against The Trailblazers must be addressed by David Stern.

I'm not blaming our loss to the Mavericks on anyone but the Blazers. The Blazers turned the ball over, shot free throws like they would get second chances at them, and failed to shut down the Mavs in the closing minutes.

We lost the game because we didn't play well enough to win.

But Steve Javie, and perhaps his entire officiating crew, did everything in their power to disrupt the flow of this game and affect its outcome in Dallas' favor in the last few minutes.

This game has the stench of Tim Donaghy all over it. Perhaps not as it relates to the manipulation of point spreads for the benefit of organized crime, but certainly as it relates to the phenomenon of corrupt officiating itself and its immeasurable impact on the outcome of games.

If anyone continues to deny Steve Javie's consistent bias against The Trailblazers, stretching at least as far back as the acquisition of Buck Williams, then that is their choice.

My eyes are wide open.

I am not accusing the man of incompetence. He knows what he's doing when he carries out his personal agendas, and is actually a terrific referee when he is not swayed by emotion. Nonetheless, his flagrant abuse of power must be countered with stiff resistance by all those who are sick and tired of it. We are right on the heels of the Tim Donaghy scandal and NOW is the time to voice our displeasure with the status quo.

I am willing, in my free time, to compose an open letter or petition to David Stern regarding the inappropriate and unprofessional conduct of one Steve Javie. I will demand, at minimum, a formal reprimand of said person to include a mandatory apology to the entire Trailblazers organization and its supporters for unconscionably prejudiced behavior by a seasoned and ranking referee. It is of my opinion that more severe disciplinary measures may be necessary.

Laugh at this if you want. If you're not with me, then please disregard the diary and move on. I don't need critique or opinions on this subject unless they serve my ultimate goal: a formal reprimand of Steve Javie. Those who are with me are free to contribute to my petition in any way they can; I will appreciate your help.

I will NOT sit helplessly while Steve Javie continues to rob my Blazers of a fair chance to win. His bias on the court versus Buck Williams alone was so flagrant that he should have been disciplined long ago. It is simply not acceptable to carry personal vendettas towards players or teams as a professional basketball referee.

I need backing, I need energy, and I need more evidence that confirms my "radical" viewpoint.

As stated previously, if you have evidence or energy to the contrary, then please just take the poll and post elsewhere or perhaps start your own diary on why Steve Javie has no consistent bias against The Trailblazers as a franchise.

I'll be more than happy to take a gander, but I've got a letter to write.

Who's with me?

PS., I am fully aware that Ralph Nader wrote an open letter to David Stern after the atrociously officiated WCF between Sacramento and LA and received no response from the Commish. I don't care what David Stern does. I'm doing what I feel I should do, even if no one cares or agrees with me.

Poll

Steve Javie's officiating

has a slight or inconsistent bias FOR The Trailblazers

1 votes

has a strong & consistent bias FOR The Trailblazers

0 votes

has no discernible bias for or against any team or any individual

2 votes

has a strong & consistent bias AGAINST The Trailblazers

25 votes

has a slight or inconsistent bias AGAINST The Trailblazers

15 votes

has no bias for or against The Trailblazers as a whole but may have bias for or against specific individuals

5 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 13 comments

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Comments

Haha

Everybody in the arena knew they got away with a flop and it sucks. The veteran/home team gets the calls. It should not have been called that late in the game. The look on mark cuban's face was terrible. I am just happy with the way LmA played and the shut down of dirk. We held the reigning MVP of the league to 22 in 2 games and won one of two. I can live with that.

by Sabonis4Ever on Dec 1, 2007 12:00 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Mark Cuban

I thought Cuban's look was one of disbelief. He had to cover his face! Even Cuban--who thinks his team has never gotten a call--couldn't believe Harris got away with such an obvious flop. I confess I haven't been aware of the alleged Javie vendetta. But if there's been a pattern of calls like that one, I'd have to agree something's rotten in Denmark.

If nothing else, a tape of that sequence--including Cuban's reaction--should be sent to David Stern. That was truly ridiculous; it bordered on the comical.

by hurryup09 on Dec 1, 2007 6:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Video

Does anyone have a video clip of the flop?

by BigCelPhone on Dec 1, 2007 8:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I did also wonder

if Cuban's game officiating report to the league (did he have to stop that?) would include the flop!

I agree that the league has not shown any public reprimand until the Tim Duncan got ejected for laughing. But David Stern in taking that action stated that Crawford had been disciplined before for the same actions. So JAvie may have already received some discipline. However I do not believe it is realistic to expect any public reprimand or apology. This is a union shop and the league cannot enforce such an action (nor do they want to air their dirty laundry).

I also think you go too far to rank this with Donaghy. This is a different issue of much less magnitude. But there exist libraries of Blazer games and someone who would take the time to put together a 2 minute clip of Javie's biased calls could then offer it to Sportscenter and hope it is sufficiently sensational for them to run it. It is a tough world when only ESPN can influence an commissioner.

by lee3022 on Dec 1, 2007 11:24 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

It was a good flop

The refs almost HAVE to call that unless they can clearly see it was a flop. Otherwise they would be ignoring an egregious foul. The flop was not obvious to me until the replay. It was timed with Jack fending off with his arm. Harris landed hard and his head snapped back. It was a good flop.

That said, I hate flops and I think the refs should be able call them as technicals--one shot and the ball.

by cantdunk on Dec 1, 2007 11:44 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

agree with this...

jack was unnecesarily running into Harris all the way down the floor. Jack was asking for it by initiating all the contact. Jack extended his elbow, Harris flooped like a truck hit him, and it was going the other way. You hate to see a call like that late in the game, but Jack shouldnt have been creating all the contact. A smart point guard would have known better...

RUDY > MJ

by myemic23 on Dec 2, 2007 1:18 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that refs should be able to call a tech

It could be called the "unsportsmanlike deception" or something. Hasn't the NBA talked about this in the last couple of years?

Very tough call for a ref to make.

by tweener on Dec 2, 2007 1:19 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

i thought jack

was convinced they were going to call a foul and he'd get to shoot free throws, his favorite thing to do late in a game. he was trying to get in front of harris, then slow down so that harris would run up his back.

ignacio

by ignacio on Dec 2, 2007 1:40 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Wow

I sure saw that play differently than some of you guys! Watching live, and then in multiple replays, I saw Harris deliberately and repeatedly bumping Jack as he brought the ball up, all in an effort to bait Jack into fending off (Harris made no actual attempt to steal the ball). When Jarrett finally made the SLIGHTEST fending off move with his left arm--like waving at a knat--Harris flew backwards as though he'd been shot.

Now, I've seen refs ignore obvious flops like that, or even call a foul on the floppee (almost as a penalty for hammy acting). I confess I've even seen refs fall for the flop--but only in circumstances when the official doesn't see the entire sequence--just the flop--and assumes there must have been contact. But I have NEVER seen a ref fall for such an obvious flop when the entire sequence occurred out in the open like that, clearly observable by everyone in the building.

That's what was so comical (except from the Blazers' perspective, of course). It was like a caricature of a bad piece of officiating. That's what drew Cuban's reaction. It looked like he was thinking, "Oh my God--even my mistreated Mavs have never gotten a call THAT bad. That was flat ridiculous!"

by hurryup09 on Dec 2, 2007 9:47 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

That's how I saw it too, from the 1st watch

and I'm generally not one to complain much on calls. I think we get some gimmies, not as many as most of our opponents, but it happens. I was calling for a foul prior to the whistle on the bumping that was happening while moving up the court which was definitely not being initiated by Jack. I can agree that it would have been smarter for Jack not to have extended his arm, but I would not agree that he initiated contact... or if he did on the final time he had just had contact initiated on him half a dozen times just prior.

by drawingjeremy on Dec 2, 2007 10:06 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Karma

Yes, it was a bad call. I believe we'd have scored on that play and gone on to stun the home team having been down by 20. That positive vibe would have jump-started our season and we would have gone on to make the playoffs and win a game or two.

Alas, that didn't happen. The whistle blew, and we lost. That loss will likely sting for a while and perhaps cost us another game or two to get over, but at the end of the season when we have gained the mental toughness from this hard-fought season but paid for it with the 6th worth record in the league, we'll once again land a top 3 lottery pick due to the karmic wheel of fortune. The ensuing off-season will have the players together even earlier to get their chemistry straight for next season, and we'll come onto the scene with the top two candidates for ROY.

All because Javie fell for the flop.

by Steve The Hedge on Dec 2, 2007 10:02 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I agree

...with hurryup09's point of view, for the most part. However, I think Jack was clearly hoping Harris would continue to bump him by staying right in front of it. It should have been a defensive foul IMO in regular game situations, or possibly just a no call because it was crunch time.

Another call was one where Aldridge was in the post against Josh Howard. Aldridge went up strong with both hands on the ball, and Howard went up to block/foul him. They jumped into each other, Aldridge's elbows went against Howard's arms...offensive foul. It was Aldridge's only foul of the game, and it was a really bad call.

The officiating was bad, and it seemed to strongly favor the Mavs. Obviously, not every bad call went one way, like Jack on the fast break against Nowitzki, but it was enough to disrupt the game in one team's favor IMO. With an 11-point difference though, I don't know if it would have truly made a difference. Roy, Webster, and Jack were again cold. Outlaw joined them after the outburst game. We didn't give Aldridge the ball enough. Still, it could have been enough considering the Mavs played poorly too.

by poster on Dec 2, 2007 11:05 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Did the call affect the outcome?

I'd say almost certainly not. Had the Blazers scored on that possession, they would have only been down four. Certainly that would have made things interesting and gotten the Mavs' attention. But for a team that's winless on the road, playing against one of the top teams in the league, being down by four is "so near, yet so far." Miracles happen, but my money would still have been on the Mavs to pull out the victory.

by hurryup09 on Dec 2, 2007 1:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs