New Delhi: We have seen it in football, and now racism seems to be spreading its wings in basketball as well, after The New York Times, in its website, said that a study on the NBA has found that white referees call fouls at a greater rate against black players than against their white counterparts.
On the contrary, it was also shown that black referees call for fouls on white players more than black, but the evidence is not as alarming, as it was found by a assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Justin Wolfers, along with Cornell graduate Joseph Price.
The difference in calls "is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew," the duo told the paper.
A game of basketball with a three-member refereeing team, given the racial make-up, may affect the game's outcome by 4.5 per cent. The study was undertaken in 2004.
However, the study didn't take into account which of the three referees made the call in their respective matches.
"We'll reserve comment until we've had the chance to review the article," NBA spokesman Tim Frank told The Associated Press.
Countering The Times's view, the NBA rebutted by saying they conducted their own survey, finding no fault with the officiating. Commissioner David Stern was quoted as saying the league's report "demonstrates that there is no bias."
According to the NBA, they have conducted the survey including the information of each call made by the respective referee. Their survey, too, was conducted during the same time frame.
(With inputs from AP)
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