Bad officiating has become commonplace in sports. It was on full display time and again on Sunday in the NFL playoffs, once favoring the Tennessee Titans and then the New Orleans Saints.
It also reared its ugly head during Sunday evening’s showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.
Early in the third quarter, with LA up 71-49, James Harden brought the ball up the floor. LeBron James happened to be the player nearest to him and decided to pick him up. As Harden attempted to get past James, he reached in and hooked the Laker star’s arm. Immediately, a whistle was blown.
It is absolutely insane that a referee who is being paid to correctly officiate a basketball game can make such an egregiously bad error.
Obviously mistakes happen, but Harden does this sort of stuff incessantly.
How has league not issued a bulletin yet, warning refs what to be on the look out for? It’s maddening.
Yes, the Lakers won the game anyway. Sure, if James could survive a fan trying to murder him and DeMarcus Cousins trying to decapitate him, he will be fine despite one blown call. But it still shouldn’t happen, and the NBA should do its part to ensure there are consequences for these sorts of mistakes.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
