Browns may kick the tires on Michael Oher
February 6, 2015Two Indians mentioned as Grantland’s worst contracts
February 6, 2015As ticker tape fell from the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena and fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers were celebrating their team’s most recent victory, the players filed off of the floor and through the tunnel, one-by-one. LeBron James had tossed his headband into the crowd. Kyrie Irving had given away his shoes, the “Black History Month” edition of his signature Kyrie 1s, traipsing back to the locker room in just his socks. Also exiting the arena through the Cavaliers’ tunnel was referee Lauren Holtkamp, leading the trio of the game’s officials through the corridors of The Q and down to their respective dressing rooms.
The first-year NBA referee walked through the tunnel with her pony-tailed head high and posture perfect. Not long after rounding the corner en route to her ultimate destination, she dropped her shoulders in what signaled the perfect marriage of exasperation and closure. The 33-year-old Holtkamp had just finished officiating one of the more contentious games of her young career. As the game was slipping away from the Los Angeles Clippers, the visiting team accumulated five technical fouls on the night, four of which occurred in three-minute span early in the third quarter. Holtkamp was on the receiving end of several quips from Clipper players, including an “And-1, God Dammit!” from center DeAndre Jordan and a to-be-determined remark from point guard Chris Paul.
It was the technical foul called on Paul that will continue to surface in headlines. According to the point guard, he was attempting to inbound the ball quickly to move up the floor in the fast-paced manner that has made Clipper basketball such a pleasure to watch on many of nights. Also according the point guard, it was Holtkamp who hindered such process, holding on to the ball longer than they would have liked following a score by the Cavaliers. Addressing the matters following the game, Paul ended his thoughts with the pronoun heard ’round the world.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Cijqg7JUbp4
The quotes are captivating for plenty of reasons: A rookie referee who also happens to be just the third female to ever be a full-time member of the NBA’s officiating crew being criticized by the head of the NBA’s Players Association being chief among them. Paul’s words—”this might not be for her”—instantly blew up on late-night Social Media trails. The presumption is one that infers “this,” a man’s game where the best athletes the world has to offer combat at a high level for 48 minutes a night, would not be for “her,” a female in just her fourth month on the job, due to the emotion that often comes in the way of impulsive body language and the occasional curse word.
Given the five technical fouls that were called, the quick trigger mentioned by Paul immediately becomes conflated with the rest of the game as if one referee, in this case Holtkamp, took control of the game and quickly shifted it in the opponent’s favor with her whistle. What has gotten lost in the translation of the night’s events: Clippers head coach Doc Rivers received his technical foul in the first quarter and later regretted not getting a second one, seemingly to avoid watching his team get decimated to the point where he would feel obligated to apologize to a young Clips fan sitting court-side; Paul’s teammate Matt Barnes was ejected by referee Eric Lewis mid-way through the third quarter; and Barnes, with his two technical fouls on the night, was the league-leader in this category with 11. Was Holtkamp quick to show Paul who was boss? Perhaps, but his teammates—and head coach—did him nary a favor.
Was Holtkamp quick to show Paul who was boss? Perhaps, but his teammates—and head coach—did him nary a favor.
“I would say really from day one when I got hired into the D-League I’ve been treated as a referee as far as my performance,” she said. “It’s been about my performance and the quality of work.”
The Clippers were reportedly unhappy with Holtkamp’s calls in Thursday night’s game, something that lingered from calls she made in a previous game against the Miami Heat. While the technical foul calls will garner all of the headlines, few will mention Paul’s blatant shove of power forward Kevin Love early in the contest in addition to the flagrant foul call attached to his name after he came down on the head of Cavs center Timofey Mozgov.
Paul will get fined for his remarks. Not for his perceived knock on Holtkamp for her gender—let’s not forget that it’s a Paul-led NBPA that just recently hired a female as its executive director—but for criticizing an official. Thankfully, this may be one of the rare times where the social media outrage gets quickly extinguished. New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made quick work of nearly every controversial item to cross his desk and Paul’s remarks will likely be no different.
NBA players have a well-documented history of having more respect for veteran officials, just as they do fellow players, but Holtkamp held court in front of a nationally televised audience. Even when the cameras were off and those watching at home were provided commercials, Holtkamp was working. During a timeout late in the Cavs-Clippers contest, the in-game arena entertainment folks were holding a competition where three grown men had to ride tricycles down the court and back with the winner getting something forgettable. Holtkamp was on the far baseline, the same one that served as the starting and finish line with multiple cameramen attempting to capture the action. Realizing that she was on the Quicken Loans Arena “Humongotron,” even if in the background, Holtkamp quickly scurried to the other side of the baseline, only to find that the camera angle had switched and she was, once again, in the line of fire. She abandoned her post all together and opted to stand next to fellow referee Ken Mauer near the scorers table. Even during timeouts, Holtkamp was running the floor.
The Clippers can do all they would like in attempt to let this be about a rookie female official, but it was Holtkamp’s ability to control situations that led her to where she is today. Letting her shoulders down after 48 minutes of contentious work the most natural of reactions, a giant exhale after a job well done.
43 Comments
Unlike Joey Crawford, who would be standing in front of as many cameras as possible.
Chris Paul was already unlikable when he came out of college, but PR being what it is, not many people remember his penchant for “jewel jabs”. Now that he’s paired with Doc “Cry me a” Rivers it’s just getting worse and worse.
The Clippers used to be unlikable because of Donald Sterling. Now they’re unlikable all on their own. Zach Lowe even said on twitter that they’re probably the most hated team in the league (by other players/coaches GMs, not fans)
Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are both pricks. When things aren’t going their way they resort to cheap shots and complaining about calls. They weren’t down by 30 points because of Holtkamp. They were down 30 because the Cavs completely dominated and outplayed them on both sides of the ball.
I watched her composure carefully and she stayed cool as lots of Clippers were in her face. As I mentioned on the other thread, Jordan was especially obnok. She certainly refereed on an NBA level and whether they were testing her because of her age, gender or unfamiliarity every ref must let the players know the boundaries of respect.
Let’s see how the Clips treat her next game she officiates now that they’ve been fined and ejected. Sometimes a girl gotta make a stand for the sake of the game.
SC last night mentioned it wasn’t the first game they have had issues with her. I don’t get what they think they can gain by calling out the official to the media though. Send the tape to the referee boss, have them make a call on it moving forward. But, I would assume that treating the officials with professional respect would lend natural, unconscious bias towards you.
Then again, maybe jokes and intimidation work better…
http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/images/photos/002/020/535/enhanced-buzz-25384-1354477549-4_crop_north.jpg?w=625&h=417&q=75
So now you can’t question or criticize someone’s job performance because of their gender? This country is ridiculous.
Completely stolen from Twitter last night
I thought the Clippers were overrated all along and now I can add unlikable to that list.
A team that can lose their composure like that is not a championship team. I lost a lot of respect for them last night. They were like school children, completely out of hand.
It boils down to disrespecting refs, regardless of gender. Some of them have smaller fuses than others. He was obvoiusly talking to her throughout the game, and it got to a point where she had to call a T on him. I haven’t been following her much, and was initially somewhat against female refs in NBA games (why can’t they ref in WNBA games), if they do as good as a job as a man, and perform consistently from game to game, I don’t really have a problem with it.
Every story (including this one) is damning him for daring to criticize a FEMALE referee, not a referee. Plus, haven’t I seen you tag the officiating in comments on the weekly Browns Winners and Losers column before?
Clippers did nothing to change their “soft” label if anything they made it worse.
http://binaryapi.ap.org/fcdadc91356e488cafcacb0e41ec7a19/940x.jpg
It is sensitive for the media because it is her first year and females have not been doing it long. I believe he had an attitude towards her because she is a female, and he didn’t like her calls. Was she too quick on the trigger? Maybe, but it is the refs job to control the game.
Why is it not ok that I “tag” officiating? I am a fan. I do not get fined for criticizing refs on a sports website. I do not openly criticize my clients or bosses on social media or with a microphone in my face. There is a difference. Like it or not, it is the world he lives in now.
So we can say officiating is crappy, but the people whose livelihoods depend on it cannot?
So the media is being more sensitive because female referees need additional protections that male referees do not? Sounds sexist.
I don’t understand this comment in the slightest. I don’t agree with Natedawg86’s assessment that what is being said is regardless of gender, either.
The premise, here, isn’t that Paul is criticizing the job performance in a vacuum: it’s that he’s criticizing the job performance based on gender alone. The theory is that his statements would not have been made if the same job performance would have occurred with a male ref OR that he is blaming her gender (and not skill/experience/etc) for the poor job performance.
So, you’re statement combines the two issues while what’s being damned is only the use of gender where it doesn’t apply. Therefore, no, this county isn’t ridiculous because what you’re stating isn’t what’s happening.
All that being said: I’m still not convinced this is what Paul was doing. Inferring meanings (like “a man’s game” for ‘this’) into pronouns is a dangerous thing. But, it’s a slow news day and little things get blown up for that reason, sometimes.
And why is the premise that he is critizing her based on gender? Did he use a sexist slur that hasn’t been reported anywhere? Is this the first time a professional athlete has criticized officiating? He is criticizing a referee. The media are the ones who brought up gender and are sending the sexist message she should be immune from critique because she’s a female. Google search Chris Paul and you’ll get the following (underlined by me)
Ridiculous.
Player criticizes referee.
Dog bites man.
Film at 11.
Female is a pronoun
It is either 3rd female referee or 3rd woman to referee
Where, exactly, am I damning anyone? In fact, this is an exact quote:
“Paul will get fined for his remarks. Not for his perceived knock on Holtkamp for her gender—let’s not forget that it’s a Paul led NBPA that just recently hired a female as its executive director—but for criticizing an official.”
We can say officiating is crappy because we don’t get fined for it. He can say it if he wants, but he will get fined for it.
I would say based on the media reactions to this situation, yes. Do they need additional protections, I don’t believe so, but as players could probably tell you, refs call games differently. Some call more fouls than others and players adjust. They probably do not have a good understanding on how she calls games and it is probably frustrating for them, and the media sees it as an opportunity to bash him for some reason.
trolling
“The Clippers can do all they would like in attempt to let this be about a rookie female official.” – Pretty sure you just slammed the entire organization as sexist.
He was disrespecting a referee, he had warnings, he was called for a technical.
Look up regardless. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/regardless
It means whether the ref is a male or female, a player is subject to a technical foul for “conduct which, in the opinion of an official (NOTE IT SAYS AN NOT HE OR SHE), is detrimental to the game” Section V page 40 of Official Rules of the NBA.
Oh I agree, CP should be fined for criticizing the ref. Those are the rules that he as head of the NBAPA negotiated for and signed off on.
I am just very very offended that the media is stepping in as a white-knight to protect all the womenz who need protection from bullies! To me, that is the most sexist reaction that could have come out of the whole thing. Assuming women need special protection is sexist, it implies they are not capable of taking care of themselves the same way a man could.
See my response to you below lol
if Isaiah Thomas didn’t get teed for that he should have at least been nominated for a Jimmy Haslam Grope ward (a “Gropey”?)
That is what the media does. Writes controversial things so that people talk about it.
Last night she was way too fast on the T’s, but the Clippers were dumb to not recognize this and caused their own issues. That said, the Technical situation could have been flipped and the Cavs were still winning last night.
Pretty sure you’re out of your mind.
Maybe I’m picking nits, but I do see a different tone from Paul here. I think there is a difference between having a problem with the way a ref does a game and questioning if they are in the right profession. Just seems to be jumping to conclusions.
For example, Paul:
– made a very unpopular comment about an official after the game. Was he tired and annoyed, or is being president of the players association not for him?
– was 4-14, 10 pts, and a -22 while his team got pasted. Maybe the NBA isn’t for him.
Did he say these things because he truly meant them, or because it was immediately after an embarrassing loss, or because he has a type of bias (to whatever degree) against female refs? None of us know, regardless I have less of an issue with her technical calls than the President (and face of) the players association bringing on this level of scrutiny for (best case scenario, mind you) being tired and annoyed and calling out a ref that will have a negative impact on his leadership for his team and players in general.
Also, has he said maybe refereeing isn’t for someone else in the past? Joey Crawford was a spotlight hogging egomaniac that would make ridiculous calls. Did Paul ever hint that maybe he should pursue another profession?
She acted like a pro, he did not. Maybe his comment had something to do with her being a woman, regardless I think it was unprofessional.
Looks like Lauren is doing a little groping of her own.
whoa, I’m such a sexist didn’t even notice. As long as everybody’s happy I guess.
I’m assuming the why of this premise is based on past indiscretions by Paul or tone of comment or context or possibly the application of other’s prejudice. I don’t know for sure. While issues like these can sometimes be blown out of proportion, the issues themselves are usually valid to some degree. Contrary to what some may believe, false accusations (those being completely unfounded) are not the norm. It is extremely more likely that there is some level of truth to the damnation of Paul’s comment(s). I’m just saying that I don’t, personally, see it based on what I’ve read. Of course, I am completely naive to Paul’s method of operation and don’t follow the Clippers.
I feel like as one of the few females here (and one who wants to reclaim the term “feminist” from the clutches of the crazies who are ruining it), I should chime in. But I have little to say that’s all that revolutionary.
Did Paul have a sexist tone? Meh, a tinge if anything. Barely at all, really. Calling him a pig-headed sexist jerk would be overblown to say the least.
Why does the media have to use “FEMALE ref” in every headline? Because, clicks. It ups the interest because of the scarcity of female refs. If the ref was (publicly) gay, GAY would be the click bait keyword used in every headline, and Paul’s words would be hyper-analyzed to make him look like a homophobe. Always being referred to as the “female cartoonist”, although it annoys me as I’m not a novelty in terms of talent, I get it. It makes me stand out, for the good or bad. And in paving a path for other females, be it in comics or in the NBA officiating, sometimes you gotta own it. Until there’s a good percentage of females officiating, Holtkamp will be in the spotlight and her job title including her gender.
Was Holtkamp out of line? In watching the game I was astounded by all the technicals. I wasn’t watching closely enough to know all the subtle clues that may have been happening all game, to be able to nod my head and say “yep, that’s enough, dudes. You asked for it.” It seemed like she was making her authority known- drawing that line early and clearly. Like in other situations, females sometimes have to work twice as hard (or put others in their place with more aggression) to be respected as much as a man. I also played street ball growing up as the only female– I HAD to be better than most of the guys to even get the bll IN my hands. I/we didn’t see or hear everything that happened in this game, so there’s no telling for sure if all those tech’s were warranted. At this point, we give Holtkamp more time to settle in, and the players time to be able to gauge her level of talent and tolerance. Cream rises to the top in the end. She could go either way. There’s a lot of men who aren’t cut out for this job either, yknow.
Sooo.. whatever. It’s not a huge story. It shouldn’t be until she continually does this to other teams, with little to no evidence that they deserved technicals. That’s my thinking, FWIW.
he wasn’t wrong and yes joey crawford are danny crawford should of been there then they would of been the head ref so she is a rookie who don’t no and yes i am a woman who loves nba
stop saying he disrepect a woman she just a rookie and the veteran should teach her better but please don’t let her in the playoff are the finale put here with 76 are knicks games even allstart she could do good in there
yknow what, I kinda agree here. I think if the ref were male Paul wouldn’t be questioning his career choices. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s sexist. It may mean almost exactly the same thing as what i spoke to in my comment- it’s a tougher road for a female ref than a male, it requires more guts and not every female can handle it. But yes. He could also be assuming from the start most/all women couldn’t handle it, and that’s being prejudiced (pre-judging).
It was unprofessional and that’s as much as we can say for sure.
It was after a dead ball turnover, not a made basket… Dude you are a journalist?!
Huh?
Agree about some of those fringe “feminists”. Doing things like trying to ban the word “bossy” while not even acknowledging other things that are going on. Like Iraq trying to pass a law that legalizes rape or that Saudia Arabia can now prosecute women who dare drive a car as terrorists.
Another bad official the fact that she is a female is irrelevant. Holtkamp has a low ranking on her evaluation but may be retained for next year, hopefully we can get rid of Violet Palmer another official that should have been fired year’s ago.