The refs seem to think they're often the unfair targets of abuse, but it seems to a lot of Pistons fans lately that it's the refs have been the ones picking on the players in recent games.
Rasheed Wallace, whose reputation precedes anything that comes out of his mouth, spoke out on Wednesday:
"They say, 'Don't say nothing to me,' " Wallace said. "What, I can't talk to you? I can't even say, 'Watch out for that ball boy on the floor behind you?' It's like they want the attention to be fixed on them."
YAYsports! thinks Rasheed should take this quote and run with it:
Actually, Sheed should make that his stock argument with the refs.
No matter what the call or how they respond, he should say "Watch out for that ball boy on the floor behind you." He could put all sorts of different inflections in his voice, but it's always "Watch out for that ball boy on the floor behind you."
Then they respond with something like "Huh? Wha - there's no ball - "
Come to think of it, that's not as far-fetched as it seems:
"It was a good game. Both teams played hard."
Environment of hostility' festering between NBA players, refs? [USA Today]
Rasheed cries foul on referees [Detroit News]
Rasheed Wallace is concerned with referee safety [YAYsports!]
Quality Control [sportsBabel]