Larry -
With all due respect, you are not the first fan (of ANY sport) to feel that the refs 1) stink and 2) are against their team and 3) have a personal vendetta against a player.
I love Diana, but she's no innocent flower. And I'm more than amused that just because you think Corey is "quiet" he couldn't deserve a "t."
You believe your background permits you to make the above assessment -- but I'd argue your background should challenge you to go BEYOND these complaints and suggest remedies. By searching for remedies, you might discover the following challenges facing those who want to improve the officiating in the WNBA.
1) Limited pool -- as independent contractors, officials can say yea or nay to working in the W. So the W gets the best of who they can get.
If you've read Dee's blog, you'll see the diverse background of the current W refs -- men's and women's college as well as the D league - consider how challenging it is to train and supervise people in the rule and play differences of the W... in a SHORT time. ('cause they're independent contractors -- the more you want to train'em the more the league has to pay'em)
So, the best college officials might - or might not - want to work year 'round. Most of the officials are NOT full-time, and have other responsibilities -- families, full-time jobs, etc. -- so you might understand why they might not want to ref summer ball.
2) Limited new blood. You rightly say "In my business our officials must treat our race drivers, car owners and team members with respect."
If you've attended professional, college, high school, youth games you know that that is rarely reciprocated. And, in a profession that is trying to develop a pool of new recruits (because, just like the sport, not everyone is skilled, talented and driven enough to become the best), the attitude of fans, players and especially coaches towards officials is, I would say, the biggest roadblock.
Coaches say they want players to become refs -- but when players are asked about the possibility they laugh -- "I hear what my coach says on and off the court about officiating. Why would I ever want to subject myself to that?"
Coaches may think it improves their 'rep' with the fans and their players by going off on officials -- can you imagine allowing that kind of communication in your offices? -- on tv and during practices and tape review. But, they do that at the expense of what they say they want -- good officials who understand the game.
3) Time and Pay. As mentioned, officials are freelancers. People will point to the handful of women's officials who do the job full-time, or the $1000 a game (for top division college teams) and say geez, what a great gig for 2hrs of work a day.
They know little about the time and energy officials need to devote to reaching that top-level plateau. Imagine 10 years. Imagine traveling long distances. Imagine holding down a full time job while officiating 3-5 games a week. Imagine 10 years of no weekends. Imagine having a family. Imagine being paid $25 a game. And the getting bumped up to $125. And then $300. That is, if you're any good and you've managed to negotiate the politics of your geographical area's "assigners." Again, this is over 10 years. While still maintaining a full-time job/family.
Sounds like a great gig, huh? I can only imagine the lines of people ready to sign up.
4) Money. Officiating has been the game's ignored child for years. It was not taken seriously (except by those who did it -- often for free). If you think the women's game has been disrespected and short-changed over the years, imagine the officials of those games. And remember, there used to be only 2 officials per game. Consider how many MORE refs we need these days -- with all the college, youth, AAU, CYO etc. etc. etc. games. As a someone once said, "It used to be fine of the local mail carrier reffed a game -- no more."
If coaches and conferences and leagues honestly want better officials, they need to commit resources. The NCAA has started with eofficals.com.
But, when was the last time any colege coach asked their conference about their officiating budget? About the supervising plan? About the recruitment and training plans? If they want it, they have to demand it -- and make their conferences put their money where their mouth is.
Officiating will not suddenly improve overnight -- there is not a magic room full of top-notch brilliant officials ready to blow the W's whistles.
If you want better, you need to look at the entire development process.
Consider the growth of women's basketball -- players haven't gotten better simply because they, as individuals, decided to shoot more hoops on their off-nights. It's because an entire system has developed centered on improving play - better coaches, higher expectations, more funds, summer ball, youth ball, camps, not to mention legal battles and shifts in social mores.
And yet, in spite of all the growth in the game during the 35 years of Title IX, it's clear we've got so much farther to go....
We simply haven't committed the same type of energy, time and money on the officiating side. So, what are we going to do about it?
If you're interested in knowing more about officiating and what's being done to improve it (and what the roadblocks are) you might want to read the following:
Making the Call: The World of Referees
Coaches and Officials: Reaching Across the Divide:
Earning Their Stripes: Officials in Training:
Helen Wheelock
Woodside, NY