East Coast Bias

To those of us well versed in the sports industry, biased refereeing has become common practice. This has never been more prevalent than the East Coast bias commonly displayed in NCAA Men's Basketball. Teams like UNC, UConn, and Duke seem to inexplicably receive every potentially controversial call, and a few that are obviously utterly fabricated.

This was exemplified in a big way in Duke's second round matchup against the Texas Longhorns last Saturday night. With under a minute left and a tied up affair, Damion James was called for a phantom foul under the basket while attempting to procure a pivotal rebound. Not only did Damion in no way touch any of the Duke players, but the whistle emanated from the trail official standing at nearly halfcourt. Not only is this an affront to the other two officials who were actually in the correct position to make the possibly necessary call, but it is borderline illegal as an official to make this call--you simply DO NOT make a call under the basket from near half court, nor should you usually even be looking at the action under the hoop. Texas went on to lose the contest, essentially wasting the heart and effort that guys like James and Varez Ward spilt all over the court in an already biased Greensboro Coliseum, replete with Duke fans from nearby Durham.

Inarguably, Texas had their chances and made more than a few crucial mistakes in the closing minutes that helped to seal their fate. But that should never be an excuse for jaded and corrupt referees to cinch a victory for the higher-market-draw team merely because CBS and the NCAA want to keep matchups attractive and produce greater revenue. This is not what college sports are supposed to be about. What is is supposed to be about it purity, fairness, passion, and desire. Not economics and shady business dealings like we so often see in professional sports. The BCS has already begun tarnishing college football, and with the emergence of the lust for money in college basketball now, we can only expect these kind of officiating "oversights" to be propogated and perpetuated.

Duke is the most infamous of the East Coast bias teams in regards to less-than-even refereeing, and there are frequent jokes about how the officials "won't let Duke lose," but never did I imagine in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) that it would be blatant to the point of being farcical. Nor did I expect it to cost Texas an unlikely birth in the Sweet Sixteen. I will never admit that Duke defeated Texas that day, nor that Texas lost. College basketball shamed itself that day, and it's only going to get worse.