The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 7, 1991 - Page 3
Thorn
NBA's ref of refs talks of trials of judging
in one of country's largest spotlights
Jeff Sleran
The NBA is the place where the
world's best basketball players run
and shoot, but it's also the place
where the best referees in the world
blow their whistles. Of course, no
one is supposed to recognize this,
because the best official tries to
blend in and let the players play.
Rod Thorn, the NBA's vice presi-
dent of operations, is the person
who oversees the world's finest of-
ficials (sometimes he levies fines
too, but that's for another day).
After playing in the NBA and work-
ing in the Bulls' front office, Thorn
made his way to NBA headquarters
in New York. Daily Sports Writer
David Schechter spoke with him
about watching over the league's
most level-headed department.
Daily: What do you look for
when seeking out a professional ref-
eree?
Thorn: Well, of course, you
want someone with a great knowl-
edge of the professional game. But
you also look for someone who has
intestinal fortitude, because offi-
cials are tested almost every night.
You have to have some heart to
stand up to that.
D: What is the training process
for an official?
T: We get officials from differ-
ent places. When we went to the
three-man we got a lot of officials
from college - some of the better
'We have the best
referees in the world
in NBA basketball.
Obviously, we need to
constantly attempt to
improve ourselves'
younger officials in college ball.
We also have a training camp for of-
ficials in the CBA, or training
ground I should say. Your first four
years in the NBA you will also ref-
eree some games in the CBA. That is
* done to give experience to our
lesser-experienced referees in the
NBA as a crew chief. In the CBA we
only have two officials, rather than
three, and when an NBA guy works
a CBA game, he is the crew chief.
We have scouts around the coun-
try, plus observers who send us the
names of people they have seen in
high school ball, pro-am ball, junior
college ball - wherever. Candid-
ates they think might some day be an
NBA official.
D: Do you have clinics during the
season to talk about any difficulties
you might be having with a certain
aspect of the game?
T: We have a training camp with
all our referees. Just as teams have a
week of training camp, we have a
week of training camp. We watch
tape, take written tests, go over dif-
ferent calls that happen in games
and how we'd like to have them
called. We have training in the
summer. For instance, there was a
summer program in Detroit this
year where several teams played, and
we had several young officials there
training. During the summer, all of
our lesser-experienced officials go
to the camps. There was one in At-
lanta, San Antonio, the L.A. Sum-
mer League. Officials are required to
go to these things in order to en-
hance their development, and in or-
der to try and get better.
D: Are most of the referees one-
time basketball players? Did they
all play basketball at one point?
T: The vast majority of them ei-
ther played basketball or played
some sport. We do have some offi-
cials who were not players, but the
better part of them have played at
some level - high school, maybe a
few in college. We have one guy, for
instance, who was a college quarter-
back. Most of them have been ath-
letes of some kind.
D: What is the pay scale for an
next year he was rated 22nd and you
wanted to fire him, you'd have a
tough time justifying that. If you're
within the bottom 30 percent, or if
you fall 10 places in a year's time,
then you're subject to whatever the
NBA would like to do.
D: I read Earl Strom's book, in
which he talked about official/
player relationships. He was com-
plaining that the NBA no longer al-
lows fraternization between the
two.
T: That has been in effect for a
long time - no fraternization be-
tween referees and players or people
in front offices - because of how it
subjective calls. When is there too
much pushing and shoving going on
in the low-post area? Ad-
vantage/disadvantage is what you
hear a lot. There's one player taking
advantage of another player through
something he's doing. That takes
some experience and it takes a feel
for what's going on.
D: What do you tell your refer-
ees about dealing with hecklers?
T: That is part of the game. The
referee has the ability, if a heckler
gets totally out of control and is
cursing and acting in a terrible man-
ner, to tell security to warn that
person that he will be ejected. And
'hen he can do it. That only happens
a couple of times a year. It's all part
of it. It's certainly not a pleasant
part of it for referees, but it's part
of it.
D: It's interesting to see how
some referees can feed off it.
T: And others don't. It comes
down to the point that there are dif-
ferent personalities. There are out-
going personalities, there are more
introverted personalities. Some
people are more sensitive than oth-
ers ... Different people take heck-
ling in different ways.
D: Is the make-up call something
real in the NBA?
T: You see it from time to time.
It's something that we constantly
talk to our referees about not doing.
'Most of these replays
are in slow motion,
but things don't
happen in slow motion
on the court. You
have to make a lot of
decisions in a short
period of time, and
they can't all be
correct'
When it's done, many times it's ob-
vious that it is. Our feeling is go on
to the next call as if it didn't hap-
pen.' A vast majority of calls, when
a referee makes a call, he thinks he's
right anyway. When you look at a
replay in the arena you may see that
he's wrong, but at that time he made
it he thought he was right. The thing
that you have to consider is that
most of these replays are in slow
motion, but things don't happen in
slow motion on the court. They
happen at regular speed, and you're
in a position where you have to make
a lot of decisions in a short period of
time, and they can't all be correct.
D: Do you see the effects of ten-
sion on the referees due to the
stressful nature of the job?
T: At times, when you get to the
playoffs and there's more at stake,
there's tension on everybody. I think
any referee and/or player worth his
salt is going to be nervous going
into games, and is going to have
some sort of apprehension. But you
learn to deal with that, and once a
game starts, if you're concentrating
on what you're supposed to do, then
you sort of block the rest of that
stuff out.
For 'M' players, WLAF
provides world of good
Fall is here. You can see it in the trees, on the frosted car windows,
and in the football stadiums each Saturday.
Football is what gives autumn its seasonal status; without football,
the summer would flow right into winter's first chill.
Likewise, baseball signals the commencement of spring, the season
that smooths the transition from winter back to summer. It is a source of
sustenance through the brooding cold when pitchers and catchers finally
report to spring training in February.
But in the past decade, entrepreneurial minds in the front offices of
anonymous sports organizations have sought to tamper with this natural
equilibrium.
First, the USFL brought us spring football. The public eventually re-
jected this flailing, litigious league, unable to acquiesce to any football
activity in April that wasn't intrasquad.
However in the spring of 1991, a new league cropped up. It wasn't an-
other USFL, as evidenced by its body of shareholders; 26 of the NFL's 28
team owners formed the World League of American Football, an organi-
zation that featured six U.S. teams and one team each from Canada, the
U.K., Germany, and Spain.
It was a venture inspired mostly by dollars, or pounds or
deutschemarks or peseta. And ultimately, financial hardship might seal
its failure, when the league's shareholders vote whether to suspend 1992
operations Oct. 23-4.
But the WLAF's effects extended beyond the pockets of its players,
mostly nameless, faceless athletes, fulfilling their dreams of playing
pro football any way they can.
Four of these players are neither nameless nor faceless to fans of
Michigan football, their names evoking memories of past Rose Bowls.
They are Brent White, Mike Teeter, John Vitale, and Mike Husar,
Michigan's four representatives in the World League.
They all agree that if the World League indeed folds, it will be more
than just the collapse of another spring league.
"It would be a shame," White said. "The NFL just does not realize
the potential of the league and the players. There's people in the WLAF
who are better than NFL players."
Now a member of the Barcelona Dragons, White played in three Rose
Bowls for Michigan at defensive tackle. Like most World League play-
ers, he covets a job in the NFL and has experienced the repeated frustra-
tion of being cut.
"You have to be in the right place at the right time," White said. "I
was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It makes you angry, full of
negative emotions. The Bears released me after I was beaten out by Dan
Hampton. We ran in minicamps, and he stopped after a lap, but they cut
me. He's always been my hero, but there I was, all jealous and angry at
him."
However, his experience in the World League has been more than a
last resort.
"Here we are, we get to travel the world virtually for free, with all
these new experiences," White said. "On top of that, we get an opportu-
nity to get somewhere we're not yet, the NFL."
For Teeter, a second-team all-World League nose tackle now with the
Minnesota Vikings, the league has been a stepping stone to the NFL.
"It gives guys who aren't in the NFL a chance to play ball and work
on their skills. It's very competitive, especially on the offensive and de-
fensive lines," Teeter said. "But it can also be a disadvantage, if you don't
perform well."
Teeter did perform well with
the Frankfurt Galaxy, well enough
tF to be active for the Vikings' first
three games. Though now in the
.NFLhe enjoyed his stint in the
World League and in Germany.
."I got to see all of Europe. I'll
never get. that opportunity again,"
4a he said. "In Germany, the fans were
excellent. The culture's different,
but it was a great experience. But a
long-term career there would be
too tough - you get homesick, and
if you're married, it's even
to u gher."~
Unlike Teeter, White might return to Europe. "My friend's father is
the president of a team in Spain. They want me to go over and coach.
"Barcelona is great. I'm a romantic; I love new cultures. My friends
showed me everything there was to see - churches, shopping areas,
restaurants. And they're like bookworms. They eat up American cul-
ture," White said. "That's why the European teams did really well. They
went crazy for football, even if it was in the spring."
Though Husar, an offensive lineman with the New York/New Jersey
Knights, did not play abroad, his team travelled to Europe several times.
"Going there was tough, but the mystique fades" Husar said. "You
don't have to send everyone postcards the second time around."
Husar found the New York fans more difficult than other cities', yet
more fulfilling once won over. He enjoyed the season immensely.
"There's a lot of pressure in the NFL," said Husar, whom the
Philadelphia Eagles signed and released in 1989. "In college, you have a
lot of fun playing, but you have to worry about getting your education.
The World League is more fun than college. It's real fun to get together
with everybody and become a team.
"In the back of my mind, I'm always thinking about moving up to the
NFL," Husar said. "But if it doesn't happen, you keep your loyalty to the
team."~
Each has his own reasons for playing in the World League. Husar
plans to play until released, while Teeter hopes to have played his final
game for Frankfurt. For White, the league is both a means and an end.
"I'm gonna keep playing. I'll go to Canada, then to the Arena League.
They're opening a team in Cincinnati, near my home in Dayton. Then it's
back to the World League, if it's active, and then to the NFL.
"It's not so much a monetary thing," White added. "It's a sense of
achievement. But as soon as I exhaust my ability to play, I want to go
back to college and get my Master's. Football will give me the money to
do that."
Teeter has different football plans. "I feel my future is with the
Vikings. It's just a matter of time before I establish myself in the NFL,"
he said. "Last year at this time, I wasn't working. Now I am.
"But if I don't make it here, I might just get on with my life. I won't
chase it that much. If this were my last season, that'd be fine. I have a
family, I can teach, I can do a lot of things."
However, all agree that the World League's possible collapse would
be unfortunate.
"The sad thing is, it'll be really hard to come back. I wouldn't want
to invest $11 million if I didn't think the league would last," Teeter
eal "'T ..,A I n. AA T ,l , , .,s ,,fnr . .h.;r n ,,Ren e
If fouls like this persist, they might warrant a fine from NBA Vice
President of Operations Rod Thorn.
NBA referee, from lowest to high-
est?
T: Right now, an entry referee -
this is the last year of a contract, I
might add, and these figures will
change a lot - makes $38,000, and
up to $110,000 for a guy with 20
years or more experience. That is en-
hanced by playoffs, where referees
can earn up to another $25,000 or
$30,000 if they go all the way
through the playoffs. We're dealing
with a union, so it does not matter
where you rate as far as perfor-
mance, but how many years you've
been in the league. They also get an
expense allowance per month, and
any flight that is two hours or
more, they get a first-class ticket.
D: Is there a tenure system in
place?
T: No, there is no tenure system.
Any official can be let go at any
time. Of course, you have to justify
it. If a guy was rated 20th and the
looks to the general public. Let's
say there was a game played and the
game was decided on a very contro-
versial play. After the game, you
would see players and coaches from
some team in an establishment and
they're having conversations with a
referee. Let's say in a bar for in-
stance. That just doesn't look good.
So fraternization is frowned upon.
D: Tell me how high you feel the
quality of your officials is.
T: Well, we have the best refer-
ees in the world in NBA basketball,
and whether you think they're good
or whether you think they're not
good, the consensus is that we do
have the best officials.
Obviously, we need to con-
stantly attempt to improve our-
selves. We do have a very, very diffi-
cult game to officiate, and particu-
larly from the standpoint that there
are a lot of subjective calls. When is
the standpoint that there are a lot of
Blue tankers end Badgers' 22-game streak
by Tim Spolar
Daily Sports Writer
In a tournament hosted by defending Big Ten
champion Wisconsin, the Michigan men's water
polo team took three of its five games in
Madison this weekend.
The Wolverines opened the tournament with
victories in their first two matches, knocking
off Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 11-7, followed by an
offensive fireworks display against Northern
Illinois which ended at 20-11 in favor of the
Wolverines.
The Wolverines ran into an unexpected brick
wall in the form of the Illinois-Chicago Flames,
who dumped Michigan, 15-7, in the Wolverines'
third match.
The tightest match of the weekend for
Michigan was its fourth game, a 12-11 loss to
The Wolverines finished the tournament on a
high note, upsetting host Wisconsin, 7-5. The
'M' victory ended the Badgers' 22-game Big Ten
winning streak, which extended back into the
1989 season.
"We played much better defensively (against
Wiscons.in)," Russell said. "It was a very big
win for us. Beating the defending Big Ten
champs in their home pool will be a tremendous
lift entering Big Ten competition."
Michigan (2-1 in the Big Ten, 7-4 overall)
was led in scoring by juniors Paul Murray (Ann
Arbor Pioneer) and Aaron Frame, each of whom
tallied thirteen goals through the tournament.
Juniors David Prince (Ann Arbor Huron) and
Glen Shillard also notched six scores apiece for
the Wolverne
pool to be close to their potential. With time, I
think we will be a major offensive force in
(collegiate) water polo."
Conversely, Russell defended the seemingly
porous Michigan defense, which allowed 50
goals in the tournament.
"Our defense looked really good," he said.
"We're trying a lot of new strategies right now,
and we have a tendency to give up some easy
goals just because the guys get a little confused
on what they're supposed to be doing. With
time, those little quirks will be worked out and
we will be very solid (defensively)."
The Wolverines look forward to hosting
their first home tournament in 12 years this
weekend at Canham Natatorium.