“David Stern and Them Cops Ain’t Out There”: Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal Stopper Once Threatened a Referee for Favoritism

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, two legendary players in the world of professional basketball, will always be remembered in the game. Only 3 teams in NBA history have three-peated. Shaq and Kobe had to give everything to win 3 straight. And sometimes that involved some altercations with the officials. However, only one team ever has won 4 championships in 4 consecutive years. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they were thwarted by the Detroit Pistons in 2004. One of the members of that Kobe and Shaq-stopping team recently expressed his candid thoughts in an interview.

The former NBA champion was particularly vocal about his strained relationship with the officials. His story carries us to an era when these legends were involved in a fierce quarrel with referees.

A 2X NBA All-Star threatened referees during his heyday

In another feature of his “Whistleblower” show, former Boston Celtics power-forward, NBA legend Rasheed Wallace gave a philosophical description of changes in NBA player-referee relations. Wallace had good memories of early years in the League.

When referees explained their calls, made room for an open dialogue with the player, giving the latter constructive feedback, it used to be more informative and respectful. Nonetheless, over time, he observed that there had been a considerable change in this relationship especially when the veteran referees showed a hostile attitude towards open communication with the players.

Wallace stated that players were aggrieved with referees who refused to communicate with them concerning their calls and left the players in the dark about the reasons behind the actions. He also probed the controversy surrounding fines imposed on a player and posed questions regarding the transparency whereby such monies were collected.

Sheed, in the embedded clip below, paints an interesting picture of how the interaction between players and referees unfolded during Wallace`s distinguished career.

“A couple of times on some occasions look don’t let that whistle fool you I was like that whistle gives you somewhat of a little bit of authority on this 94 foot hardwood for 40 minutes 48 minutes.”

He continued, “I said but you gotta go home you gotta leave this Arena David Stern, and them cops ain’t out there now but guess who can’t be out there I could be out there I could have had some homies out there because it’s so simple.”

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They sent a strongly implied message. It was a powerful reminder that no matter how many people engaged in the games, boundaries exist that must never be trespassed. Although they could extend the limits of the court, they should not forget that the court was just part of it. “It hit me and I realized that this is a one-billion-dollar league and it has its own sets of ground rules.”

Of course, his issues with officiating make sense. Being a lesser-known star in the league, Rasheed never got to enjoy the sort of foul calling that bona fide superstars like Shaq and Kobe would. Yet, that didn’t stop Wallace from shutting down the Lakeshow in 2004.

“Rasheed Wallace vs. Ron Garretson: When Respect Met the Referee’s Decree”

Ron Garretson is one of the most legendary officials in the history of NBA officiating; he was an imposing figure on the court who did not entertain any form of disrespect from players. Rasheed Wallace was one of those players who discovered that fact the hard way.
On first look, the clip might seem harmless, and the way Wallace looks ordinary enough does not merit attention. However, context is key. Wallace got his whistle for a foul and technical for voicing out his disappointment with the officiating from the bench side while addressing Garretson. Sheed had received a sharp reminder by the veteran referee, who ordered him to calm down and lower the tone of his voice but it was followed by Wallace’s cooperation.

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However, throughout the game, Wallace maintains a fixed gaze on Garretson, an occurrence that might suggest a psychological attempt to intimidate the latter. Wallace, however, continued to do this, even after Garretson had told him not to. Hence, Garretson acted quickly by throwing Rasheed Wallace out of the game. This event provides an instructive case on how respect, or its absence, may make a major difference in NBA games.