Quotes About Refs

It's mostly the coaches the refs don't like. Like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. Jackson is a master at setting up refs, always telling them they're against his team, playing mind games.

The refs are trying to do the right thing. They're trying to make the right calls, but if you put a lot of pressure on them as far as being in their face, it's embarrassing. They don't want to get yelled at a fourth, fifth time.

I'm a receiver, so I know all the releases,. So it's hard to get me on any releases. And I'm 6-5, so I've got long arms and I can press and stay connected at all times. And the refs, sometimes you don't know if they're going to call holding or not, so I can get away with holds.

In short, we all want to be liked. The refs, like all humans, are all social creatures and assimilate the emotions of the crowd. Every once in a while, a referee will subconsciously make a call that will make the crowd happier.

You talk about rowdy - in Oakland the players were on you. The refs were on you. The stands were on you. You had to talk back or you were a sissy; you'd get run out of the league. Afterward? Yeah, it was kind of a, uh, struggle to get out of the gym. Cops had to be everywhere. Which was lucky.