I believe refs tend to swallow wistles at the end of games because they dont want to be criticized for impacting the outcome. BUT, when a foul is that obvious they have to know that their call can be backed up by slow motion visual evidence; therefore, why should they fear to make that call. What this has done to basketball is create relative impunity for defenders to commit a foul on the last play of the game. I gotta admit, if I'm an opposing player and I know for a fact that officials tend to swallow wistles, and even if a foul is called, the player still has to make the free throws....I hack the crap out of him. This is a systematic nationwide problem. Referees are there to do their job and if they cant do their job without fear of being criticized for changing the outcome of a game, then the NCAA obviously has to step in to do something. In my job, if I fear for my job when making tough decisions and that fear impacts the decisions I make, I am no longer a useful employee. Something has to be done, not just about this particular instance, but about the epidemic that is occurring in college basketball.
An idea: In order to get this "ref swallowing their wistle" on the last play issue resolved, what if the defending team knew that if they did foul and it was called that it would be called intentional/flagrant and the offensive player would shoot a technical. I realize this would put even more pressure on the refs, but you could also consider using slow motion instant replay on the final play only. When the ending of a game has so much impact on the outcome, why wouldnt the NCAA make every effort to get it right?
[This message has been edited by Enviroag02 (edited 3/24/2008 11:31a).]