Tweet and Sour

Ever since I spent a day with a group of former NFL officials who teamed up to work one last high school football game with a friend dying of cancer, I have thought of referees in a different light.

They aren’t robots in gray shirts or the enemy. They’re people. People who love sports, people who love to mine enjoyment out of life. They’re people who love their jobs and dedicate themselves to doing that job well.

But because they’re human, I do think they can be subject to personal feelings. They can be swayed by the charismatic aura of star players or burn at the incessant hammering of an edgy coach.

And because they’re human, sometimes they simply blow the call.

Maybe that was the case in each of the nine mistakes the NFL admitted were made in a review of a Minnesota-Green Bay game leaked to the media.

All of the above could have come into play in the three most recent attention-grabbing incidents in the NBA. I’d like to leave it at human error, but the biggest problem facing the league is the perception that there’s more behind calls than a mere reaction and tweet of the whistle.

On Wednesday, Boston Celtic star Paul Pierce chipped two teeth when he was knocked to the floor against the Phoenix Suns. No foul was called, prompting Boston broadcaster Tom Heinsohn to rage on the air and later tell the officials, “You guys were awful tonight. Absolutely terrible,” as they made their way to their dressing room.

On Friday, after Miami Coach Pat Riley watched the New York Knicks shoot 37 free throws to the Heat’s 16, he said his team was the victim of an “absolute dislike for me by the officials.” He also said that when his franchise went into decline, veteran official Steve Javie told him, “It’s given us absolute delight to watch you and your team die.”

None of the words were as dangerous as the debris thrown at officials by Utah Jazz fans after a late call went against their team in a loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

It has all led to an increase in paperwork and videotapes for Stu Jackson, the NBA’s vice president of operations -- and it has turned up the volume on the always-humming chatter about objectivity of NBA officials.

“[The incidents] tend to come in bunches. That has been my experience,” Jackson said. “The same questions, whether it be announcers, coaches or fans. We’ve had all three over the past weekend.”

A little later, he said, “I’m concerned about the events of the past few days. I’m concerned about the safety of our officials as they enter or leave an arena. I’m concerned when somebody wants to criticize the officials in a manner that’s not constructive. We’re concerned about announcers that -- at least in my mind -- cross the line with regards to criticism.

“In terms of officials, it’s an ongoing concern that we continue to focus on their development and continue to attain a level of consistency.”

That last part appears to be as far off as time travel.

Expansion diluted more than the quality of the NBA. The extra teams and games -- and the addition of a third official to each crew in 1988 -- have padded the officiating ranks with more inexperienced refs.

What to do? The NBA has incorporated instant replay to help determine if shots and fouls occur before the end of quarters. Jackson said it has been used more than 100 times this season, with six reversals -- and that the league is reluctant to expand the use of replay because just about every call the officials make is a judgment call.

We can accept bad. We just can’t tolerate agendas. It’s already accepted as fact that the superstars and the marquee teams get an edge. The Lakers had to fight their way through that on the way to the top, and now they benefit from the champion’s perks.

But is it simply a matter of the best team getting the breaks, or do officials yield to the same celebrity wow-factor that lets actors escape speeding tickets?

I’ve seen officials introduce family and friends to Laker players after games. According to a lawsuit filed by Karla Knafel, responding to an extortion suit filed by Michael Jordan resulting from an affair they had 13 years ago, she was introduced to Jordan by official Eddie F. Rush. If a ref is dropping Jordan’s name and calling him up while talking to a singer at a hotel, don’t you think he might hook Jordan up with a trip to the free-throw line the next time a shot doesn’t go down? It sure seems possible.

Jackson said the NBA doesn’t have a written policy against officials socializing with players and coaches.

“We strongly discourage fraternization among referees with players,” he said. “However, we are not naive to think that there won’t be occasions when a player finds himself in the presence of a ref socially and vice versa. That’s going to happen at times.

“The referees clearly understand that fraternization or contact with players won’t be tolerated. In the case of Karla Knafel, she makes an allegation about Eddie Rush. We have talked to Eddie and feel comfortable with his account of the incident.”

Jackson wouldn’t elaborate on the discussion, but his comfort level seems to be reached more easily than most NBA fans’.

Then there’s the possibility of officials going out of their way to antagonize players and coaches. I’ve heard players say that officials told them they were going to get them. And if anyone would be a target for officials’ “animus,” to use a Riley word, it would be Riley himself.

Riley is one of the primary reasons officiating is a talking point in the NBA. When he coached the Lakers, he complained that the Boston Celtics were too thuggish during their NBA Finals matchups. And he and Phil Jackson turned every day off between playoff games into a referee-baiting contest when the Knicks and Bulls went at it in the 1990s.

Red Cashion, an NFL official for 25 years before retiring in 1996, said it was never personal for him.

“I think officiating at this level is beyond that,” he said. “I hope it would be. I don’t know of any case where I think any call was made or not made because of a particular coach or a particular player.”

He said that notion primarily comes from coaches under heat.

“I don’t know if you ever hear any of the coaches, when they’re winning, fussing about the officiating,” Cashion said. “That’s a strange phenomenon.”

He said officials and participants can be friendly outside the workplace.

“If we ended up on a plane together and a coach wanted to visit, I’d entertain him and be glad to do that,” Cashion said. “If we met at a social function, I’m not going to hide from him. But I’m not going to go out of my way. I’m not, in a game situation, going to call him by his first name. I’m going to call him Coach.

“I think the ability to maintain the professional relationship is of utmost importance. When he’s got the team with him and I’ve got the uniform on, it has to be professional.”

There’s a decorum that has to pervade the game. The coaches, players and officials have to be professional. The leagues have the power to fine and suspend coaches and players to keep them in line. (Riley could face disciplinary action as soon as Jackson’s investigation is concluded.)

But what about the fans?

In the Utah-Sacramento game, when Jazz center John Amaechi was called for a foul to send Chris Webber to the line for the winning free throws, a referee made a bad call. But that didn’t give the Utah fans the right to throw things at the refs. And if they aren’t caught in the act and arrested on the spot, it’s hard to punish them.

They’re the least accountable, while the targets of their wrath are the most accountable.

“The critique that the officials are under with the instant replay and slow motion puts the officials under greater scrutiny,” Cashion said. “You don’t see instant replay of the player if he didn’t catch the ball, or that a coach should have gone for the first down instead of kicking a field goal. Besides that, they don’t know any of the officials. So it’s an easy target. I just hope the circumstances are handled in a dignified and an adult way.”

So can we elevate the setting? Can we not throw things when calls don’t go our way? If we’re going to make accusations as serious as Riley’s, can we have proof? Can refs stop acting like groupies around NBA stars? I hope that isn’t too much to ask.

But here’s what is: perfection.

“I don’t know that I ever saw a perfectly officiated game,” Cashion said. “Don’t know that I ever saw a perfectly coached game or played game, either.”

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com