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Allen calls for accountability, communication with refs 12.08.09 at 7:30 pm ET
By Jessica Camerato

Ray Allen isn’t looking for the star treatment.

Regardless of how long he has been in the league and how many milestones he has reached, he wants to be judged on the same level as everyone else. He believes the same should go for the rest of the NBA.

In the wake of former referee Tim Donaghy’s interview in which he said certain players were intentionally whistled more often than others, Allen believes the NBA needs to eliminate any biases among athletes, coaches, and officials.

“It’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because you play a game and sometimes you get a bad whistle, you’re trying to play defense, you’re trying to play offense, it’s unfortunate,” Allen said before the Celtics-Bucks game. “I think as a league we have to do whatever we can to make sure there aren’t any biases. Regardless of who’s on the floor, I know I’ve been in the league a long time but if I foul somebody, call it. If I don’t, it’s not a foul. So it’s a tough job the referees have because refereeing is perspective so having three referees out there, they have to make sure they see it and sometimes they don’t, and not give them the benefit of the doubt all the time.”

Just as players are called for fouls, Allen believes officials should be held accountable for their infractions. The refs, he says, can impact a game just like the players themselves.

“I think more so that the referees should be held more accountable so you know at least if a referee makes a bad call or does something to decide a game or has a player sitting on the bench and it’s a bad call, just the same as us. We play bad, we get benched or you get fined for technical fouls, I think the same because the referees are part of the game very much,” he said. “There are a lot of great referees out there that make great livings. This is not a game about us as players. As much as people want to see the players, the referees are in the game and we always say let’s not do anything to allow them to affect the game by making the call that could go either way. But referees, they’re part of the game and I think if they make a call to affect it, they should be held accountable.

But Allen is not claiming the situation lies solely on the referees. He points to better communication as the first step in eliminating biases. While he says the refs don’t always want to consider to his reaction to a call, he realizes there is more players can do to help the situation.

“It’s tough at time when the referees, they don’t want to listen to you, they don’t want to hear you so the game I don’t think can get better when we’re out there on the floor and we can’t speak to the referees,” he said. “Honestly as players, we have to do a better job of approaching them and making a good working relationship. But that’s all I ask. Again, as players we’ve got to do a better job because if a referee misses a call, I hope he doesn’t mean to do it on purpose, but we’ve got to make sure we hold him accountable as we are held accountable as well.”

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