[CorsiHockeyLeague]

There are different problems in different sports with officiating. The issue with the NBA is that it's like the NHL but without a "code".

In the NHL, you can call a penalty on almost every sequence of play. That's also true of the NBA, and to a large extent, the NFL. So a ton of importance is placed at the referee's discretion.

In the NHL, there is a "code" that is often referred to as "game management". This means that, outside of the rulebook, there are somewhat vague but generally understood "rules" for how things will be called. Has your team been on the power play three straight times? You know the refs will be looking to call something against you. Are you currently on the penalty kill? You're going to get a bit more leeway for infractions because the referees will be hesitant to award a 5-on-3. Is it late in a close game that has significant importance? You know that an infraction is going probably to have to be clear and obvious and important - i.e. denying or creating a scoring chance - to be called. In other words, the refs are manipulating outcomes, but in a way that we can see coming and generally aren't surprised by.

In the NBA, there is no well-known set of rules like that, for the most part. There are a few things - for example, referees will be hesitant to give a 2nd tech in most cases to avoid tossing a guy out of the game - but for the most part, it's just up to the referee in question what particular thing they have a bee in their bonnet about on a given night. In some games, an official will apparently decide, "I'm going to be really strict about traveling here". In others, they might give defenses a lot of leeway to be physical. In others, they might decide that they're going to only be strict about that physical defense when it's the team's "star player" getting hacked. As a result, officiating is incredibly random game to game.

Both sports have the benefit - unlike the NFL - that a single call, even if it's in the last few minutes, is not likely to be an overwhelming factor in deciding the game. But because playstyles vary so much from team to team in the NBA, a particular referee's approach to a game, even if it's applied equally to both teams over the course of four quarters, can make things much more difficult for one than the other depending on how that team plays. And of course, there are many situations where it's not applied equally to both teams over the course of the game because the ref decides that X player is complaining too much, or is doing something that ref finds objectionable (their particular method of handling the ball seems to that ref to be too close to carrying, or their post move involves movement of the plant foot that other officials would let go, etc.) or - as the Raptors will no doubt find out as the season goes on - they've been targeted for retribution by the referee cabal due to what Fred did last night.

It's the media that needs to deal with this stuff, because they're not beholden to the league. They cannot be fined, nor can they be targeted by the refs themselves. But the problem there is that the thin veneer of integrity that the league enjoys needs to be there for the media to continue to enjoy the attention of fans. If "this is all rigged anyway" is the attitude that fans start to have, it hits everyone in the wallet. And the wallet matters considerably more than the integrity of the sport, to literally everyone involved in it.