Jeff Van Gundy vs. David Stern

Dear David Stern:

As commissioner of the NBA, I realize that you can't tolerate coaches and players criticizing the officiating, as it really calls into question the integrity of the game. Especially when the coach suggests that he had contact with an official the way Jeff Van Gundy did. So I fully support harsh penalties for this offense.

However, another thing that may help to alleviate this problem in the future is to stop having officials who suck. The officiating in the NBA has sucked for at least the last 10 years. Now, I realize it is a tough game to call. I know that you can't call every foul, or get every call correct. However, fouls should never be called on people who cleary didn't touch anyone, and officials should be able to recognize when a player is out of bounds. I'm not sure the best way to fix this problem, but there are ways you could try. Instant Replay in certain situations could be used. You could have some system for evaluating officials (if you have one now, start over, because it sucks). You could add another offical. There are ways to fix this problem. Making Jeff Van Gundy pay a stiff fine may be appropriate, but it only addresses a symptom of the bad officiating, and does nothing to cure the problem.

I realize you're never going to make everyone happy, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try.