Video rulebook could be critical success in educating masses

NBA.com: Video rulebook

The stars of the 2009 NBA playoffs had names you're all familiar with: LeBron. Kobe. Dwight Howard. Paul Pierce. Another prominent figure on the list didn't hit a single game-winning shot. In fact, he didn't score a single point, steal a solitary inbounds pass or commit anything even close to a flagrant foul.

Stu Jackson, the NBA's vice president of basketball operations, was prominent, all right. He was prominent for what some would say are the wrong reasons.

Aside from whether the Lakers and Celtics would be able to arrange a rematch in the NBA Finals, the single biggest issue in the 2009 postseason centered around the vastly different interpretations of flagrant fouls as held by the referees and their supervisors at the league office.

Was this unnecessary and excessive contact? You now have an online point of reference. (Getty Images)

In 85 postseason games, 14 flagrant fouls were upgraded, downgraded or issued retroactively upon video review by the league. According to figures compiled by the NBA and initially published, in part, by the New York Times, that was significantly more than each of the past two playoffs (eight in 86 games in 2008 and seven in 79 games in 2007). In 2006, 12 such changes were made in 89 postseason games.

The flagrant issue became so prominent that Kobe Bryant defended Ron Artest, then with the Rockets. Artest's flagrant foul, penalty-two -- the most serious kind, dealing with unnecessary and excessive contact -- against Pau Gasol in the Western Conference semifinals was downgraded to a flagrant-one after the league office reviewed the video.

"It's something that must be addressed, because it's all over the place," Bryant said at the time. "It's so subjective, it's ridiculous."

With its launch Thursday of a video rulebook at NBA.com, the league has taken a bold and important step toward lifting the veil of secrecy when it comes to how the game is officiated -- not to mention how the officiating is graded and why calls are sometimes changed with the benefit of video review.

Now you, the fan, can watch scores of video examples and judge for yourself whether a player should have been assessed a flagrant foul and ejected, or whether LeBron James' trademark "crab dribble" constitutes traveling.

Now you have irrefutable, slow-motion, video evidence to either fuel or debunk your conspiracy theories when it comes to NBA officiating.

To the person who came up with this idea, I say, "Congratulations ... and damn you." I'm not sure if this will dispel the myths about how poor, subjective and inconsistent NBA officiating can be or throw another log on the conspiratorial fire. But I like it ... in a slippery-slope, what-hath-technology-wrought sort of way.

"Our hope is that by introducing the video rulebook -- which we think is the first of its kind -- we are able to finally provide a place of reference for everyone with respect to how our games are officiated," Jackson said. Coming at a time when it appears all but certain that the NBA will use replacement referees in regular season games for the first time since 1995, this is nothing short of a bold step toward the kind of transparency that the league promised in the wake of the Tim Donaghy scandal. It doesn't get any more transparent than turning over the most difficult officiating job in professional sports to dozens of amateurs and providing fans, media, coaches and players with a live, interactive blueprint for how referees are supposed to be doing their jobs.

This is like having a sword fight with your worst enemy, knocking the sword from his sweaty grip, and handing him yours.

But again ... I like it. Even the most ardent NBA conspiracy theorists and referee-bashers among you has to applaud the league for this one.

"Certainly, officiating this game is very difficult. We all know that," Jackson said. "And whether we're using replacement referees or our normal staff referees, they're going to make mistakes. That's true now and that will be true if our regular referees come back to work. So we don't feel that's a bold move at all."

The project has been in the works for about 18 months, stemming from the need to explain the rules and the availability of online video technology that made it possible. The video rulebook launches with approximately 150 video examples in more than two dozen categories and subcategories. The oldest video dates to the 2008 season, and Jackson said the site will be frequently updated with fresh examples.

Audio from broadcasters -- who often don't know the rules and tend to be biased toward the teams they cover -- was intentionally omitted from the video examples, Jackson said. But the NBA plans to explore incorporating voice-over explanations from a league official -- perhaps Jackson himself -- to supplement the video and written explanations.

This attempt to illustrate 62 pages of written text that constitutes the league's official rulebook isn't perfect. It comes with an important disclaimer: If there's a discrepancy, the written rules take precedence. (Inquiring minds can click a link and get the official rulebook in PDF format.)

Jackson and his staff had no qualms about including some controversial plays from recent playoffs, including several flagrant examples from the 2008 postseason. (Rajon Rondo's controversial face-rake of Brad Miller in last season's Bulls-Celtics series is notably absent, as is Artest's flagrant against Gasol that was downgraded upon review.) Included in the examples are Jordan Farmar's flagrant-one against Rondo in the '08 Finals, and Marvin Williams' clothesline of Rondo in Game 7 of the '08 first-round series between the Celtics and Hawks.

No, Lakers fans: The Celtics are not the only team represented in examples of players who have been aggrieved by flagrant fouls.

Jackson expects the sections on block-charge and traveling to get the most traffic, since those are among the most difficult calls to make in real time. Sure enough, they're listed under a section in the video rulebook called "NBA's Most Misunderstood Rules."

Jackson actually made some news on a conference call with reporters Wednesday when he revealed that the league has, in fact, changed the wording of the written rulebook to reflect how traveling is supposed to be called. Gone is the antiquated notion that a player gets only one step after gathering his dribble. The league's officiating staff has long instructed refs to allow two steps after a player has picked up his dribble, and that change will be reflected in the written rules for the 2009-10 season.

Three steps? That's LeBron's "crab dribble." Despite the King's frequent complaints that his move isn't traveling, you can watch it here and see clearly that it is.

So if a player wants to know if a new move he's come up with constitutes traveling, he is welcome to click on the video rulebook, watch more than a dozen examples, and decide for himself. Whether this provides clarity or merely gives players, coaches, fans and writers more ammunition to assail NBA officiating is a discussion for another day.

"On the floor, we have to remind ourselves over and over that referees have to make these decisions in split seconds or tenths-of-seconds, and don't have the advantage of a video rulebook," Jackson said. "But in our mind, the best interests of the fan outweighs any potential conflict."

Jackson wouldn't answer any questions about how the replacement refs are doing so far. In fairness to him, the performance of referees always depends on your perspective. If nothing else, your perspective can now be a little more informed.