Strom Blows Whistle On NBA Referees

AKRON, Ohio - The quality of NBA officiating is bad, and it's getting worse.

No surprise there. Virtually any coach, player or fan will say as much.

But Earl Strom happens to agree, and Strom has been an NBA official for 29 years and generally is recognized as one of the best to ever wear a whistle.

``I'm really concerned with how the game is being called and how officials are being treated and taught,'' Strom said. ``We need to clean house at the top, to bring in a whole new regime to be in charge of the officials.

``We teach our new officials how to stand, how to hold their arms up, how to run - but we don't tell them how to handle people. Well, handling people is as much a part of officiating as knowing the rules.

``A good official is like a cop in the street - he ignores the jaywalkers and watches out for the muggers. You reward aggressive play, but you nail the hatchet men and the bullies.

``In other words, you use your judgment. Well, now they want to take the human element out of officiating, and I think that's a huge mistake. How can you watch the game if you're always worrying about exactly where you are supposed to stand and how you're supposed to hold your shoulders?''

Strom, 62, retired this past summer. He will be a broadcaster for the Los Angeles Clippers this winter. He also is promoting his wonderfully entertaining book, ``Parting Shots'' (with Blaine Johnson).

He lays the problems with NBA officiating at the doorstep of the NBA front office, especially the supervisor of officials, Darell Garretson.

``First of all, Darell should not be officiating games and be in charge of the officials, too,'' Strom said. ``He can't move anymore and he's just not a good official. I don't care if he is the boss.

``Then he has his son (Ronnie) as an NBA official. I suppose Ronnie can become adequate, but you want more than adequate. I mean, there are guys with more talent and who have worked harder in the CBA who were passed over when Darell promoted his son.

``If that isn't nepotism at its highest, what is? He has thrown his kid into a terrible situation.''

And there's more.

``Darell has the officials all looking over their shoulders, even the older guys like Dick Bavetta and Jess Kersey. He runs a police state, telling them who to talk to, what to say, where to go, on and off the court. He has Bavetta afraid of his own shadow.''

Strom was known as a ``road referee.'' He would not be intimidated by the crowd and seemed to relish making the tough call that incited the boos. He was known as decisive, a man whose main goal was to keep the game flowing, yet keep anarchy from breaking out on the court.

``The game belongs to the players, that is who the fans pay to see, not the officials,'' Strom said. ``But Darell has such an attitude - he thinks that the game, the ball, everything is his. And he teaches that to the officials. That is why you see so many crazy things happening.

``They tell you that you should treat all the people the same - which is nuts because people are different. For example, if I'm working a game between Detroit and Cleveland and Lenny Wilkens runs down the sideline to challenge my call, I'll listen to what he has to say.

``Lenny isn't there to show you up. Of course, if he won't shut up, then you have to nail him (with a technical). But usually, Lenny says what is on his mind and that's it.

``But Chuck Daly is a showman. He'll prance up and down the sideline, trying for a technical, wanting to get tossed to get the crowd into it. I have a short fuse with him. He doesn't get as much rope as Lenny because he doesn't deserve it.

``But they tell officials, if the coaches get on you a bit, don't think - just nail them with a T.''

Strom says that one good thing the NBA has done is to put in the flagrant foul rule.

``I'd been asking them to do that for years before someone got killed out there,'' he said. ``Remember in that Game 5 between the Cavs and Philly when Charles Barkley decked Craig Ehlo? Well, that was a flagrant foul and a reason for an ejection if I ever saw one, but the officials just called a regular foul.

``I'll tell you this - those guys were fined by the league for not coming down on Barkley.

``A good official has to lay down the law and then follow through with it. You can't tell the Sixers that there won't be any crap out there, then let Barkley get away with what he did to Ehlo.

``You can clean up basketball by throwing the guys out when they step out of line. After a fight once, Garretson once said to me, `You can't trade a Kurt Rambis for a Kevin McHale.' I said, `Hey, wait a minute. If both of those guys deserved to be tossed, then toss 'em. I don't care who they are.' ''

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STROM ON OFFICIALS

AKRON, Ohio - Earl Strom on current officials:

-- Jake O'Donnell and Jack Madden: ``They can be great officials, but all the bureaucracy and the inner-office politics off the court have worn them down. Sometimes, they just have nights where they're not with it.''

-- Steve Javie: ``The best of the young officials, especially since he has started to get over his rabbit ears.''

-- Mike Mathis and Danny Crawford: ``They're just damn good. They have courage, they control the game and they don't worry about what the crowd, the coaches or the NBA office says. They want to get the call right.''

-- Ed Rush: ``He is a good official, but worries too much about pleasing his superiors to be great.''

-- Jack Nies: ``Very solid. Great to work with. A pro.''

-- Darell Garretson: ``His ego is out of control. He is not able to keep up with the action. He should not be officiating. He also wants everybody to kiss his butt. He thinks he's the whole show.''

-- Jess Kersey: ``He had a chance to be great, but Garretson has him too worried about making mistakes.''

-- Hugh Evans: ``He's a decent ref, but spends too much time trying to emulate Garretson.''

-- Earl Strom: ``I'm 62 and physically I can still do the job. But I wanted to get out while I was still a good ref. Also, I didn't like the direction that officiating was taking. No one wanted me to teach young officials and I could no longer keep my mouth shut about things I saw that are obviously wrong, so I stepped away and I'm speaking out.''