The closing stages of the January 21st game between the Chicago Bulls and the Sacramento Kings caused the league to have to issue a post game statement regarding the events of the contest. To clarify what happened, with under a minute to go in a game tied at 99, Dwyane Wade steals the ball from Garrett Temple, he soars in for a dunk, which he missed. Demarcus Cousins was near Wade as the swooped in for the attempted dunk, but didn’t make contact with him( I am making more contact with my keyboard as I type this than did Cousins with Wade.). A late whistle was blown and a phantom foul was called on Cousins. This lead to two free throws and ultimately a three point win , 102-99, for Chicago. Even the Bulls’ home announcers could not spin that atrocious call.
Bulls end up with the win after a questionable foul call on Boogie 🙃 pic.twitter.com/ceg3gvvdkh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 22, 2017
The next day the NBA and their Office of Obvious released its Last Two Minute Report which stated” Cousins (SAC) has his hand on Wade’s (CHI) back while he is airborne, but he does not extend his arm and push him and the contact does not affect the shot attempt.”
Cousins had this to say following the release of the report:
Yeah thanks the team feels so much better now that it's cleared up! 🙄
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) January 22, 2017
This is just the latest incident of leagues, because this problem is by no means exclusive to the NBA, issuing useless and pointless reports following obviously bad calls in contests. It is empty because the game or that play is not going to be replayed so the admissions carry no weight. They admitted this call was wrong, now what? It seems like it is some token attempt to make it appear these leagues are concerned with the integrity of these games. Fans should be insulted by this weak playcating effort, as it is a slap in the face to their intelligence. As competitive as professional and “amateur” athletics have become, one call, one game can affect contracts, seasons and careers. A change can be made but it must come from the fans, the ones with the true power. If they decide that because the leagues do not care enough to ensure their games are officiated correctly, then we do not care enough to watch, then you would see this issue get resolved in short order.
