"It's all the refs' fault." In the last fifty games I coached, I don't think the officials decided any. Maybe that's a function of level (middle school), but skill, teamwork, and effort decide almost all games.
Everyone has their basketball "wish list" of changes. I wish for people to stop abusing officials. It's easier to blame the officials than to examine why teams lose - talent, effort, decisions, execution, and coaching.
What does study of high level play officiating show? "We analyzed referees’ calls in 250 such incidents, taken from an entire season of the Israeli Basketball Super League, and we found no evidence for favoritism. That is to say, although the situation of potential offensive fouls should be prone to refereeing biases, in our sample the reputation of the players and the teams, the issue of home vs. away teams, and the players’ physical size did not significantly affect the frequency of calls for an offensive foul."
How bad is it getting? Referees suffer not only verbal but physical abuse.
- Model excellence. We can't expect players to show respect for officials if we don't.
- Teach better defense as outlined above.
- Teach sportsmanship as part of our core values.
- Encourage younger officials to stay in the game.
- Support officials to both our players and families by encouraging personal accountability.
- Reiterate officials' training to everyone involved.
- Encourage league officials to monitor coaches and fan behavior via officials and coach reporting.