Blowing It Scenario #108-Professional Referees.

When Will We Finally Replace This Consistent Human Error As Part Of Sport?

Last night was game one of the 2018 NBA Finals I watched as the Cleveland Cavaliers were about to pull off an improbable upset on the road against the Golden State Warriors. The Cavs were going to win they had it, they made all the right moves down the stretch but something strange happened in the last few minutes. The refs got involved, making poor call after poor call in favor of the warriors, totally handing the game to the them. I counted about five bad calls in the fourth quarter that stole points from the Cavs and gave them to the Warriors. Two clean strips called for fouls, a charge that was reviewed, even though it wasn’t a review-able play, which was over turned and given to the warrior to shoot two. Even though the in house ref called it a charge. An ejection for a simple foul that started a fight. It was horrendous to watch as a fan of sports. But this article is not about that game, it’s just an example. Which there are so many of.

The refs can literally decide games and they do it all the time. So when will we finally admit refs are bad for the game? And I’m talking all games football, baseball, soccer, basketball. Humans are fallible and have biases. Every sport I watch I feel referees interfere with the action constantly. It makes me not want to watch sports. Yes they serve a purpose to enforce the rules but with the technology we have now they can easily be replaced with machines that can get the calls right every time. Heck what is the point of an umpire when we literally watch on the screen an image of a strike zone and the dots where the pitches land within that zone? There is absolutely no need for that umpire.

Some might argue it’s tradition to maintain referees. Well my argument to that is tradition flew out the window years ago. Every year “traditional rules” are changed in every sport. Should we go back to the leather helmets football players wore when the sport first began because it’s traditional? It’s time we evolve sports, because when common fans are getting the calls right more often then the refs, all by just watching the game at home on their high definition televisions something is inherently wrong. It’s time we replace the refs.



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