[Dungy]

Having spent a decade as a ref (as a much younger man), there are three truths that I saw in almost all referrees.

1. I never saw a referree consciously attempt to affect the outcome of a game or purposely make the wrong call to hurt one team or help another.

That said...subconsciously, all refs are affected by the path of least resistance. Meaning:

2. The home team, especially with a large roaring crowd, will get the benefit of the doubt of close calls. It is just more difficult for any human to stand up against the majority. Thus, you get what they call home court advantage, ESPECIALLY out of region when the visitor brings a light crowd or may not be seen for a long time.

3. (This one happens more than #2) The team that has been traditionally better or the big name coach that has a good reputation will get the subconscious breaks. It is just human nature that refs 'pre-judge' the game to some extent. They do not expect Jenkins to 'compete' with Hazard, so when Jenkins gets a steal, it is more likely a foul, as it is harder to believe that Jenkins could have played good enough defense to actually stop a better team. This becomes more apparent late in the game when an underdog is near an upset. (This is similar to the Jordan calls in the NBA...the star lost the ball going in so he had to be fouled. No way someone could've stopped him.) Also, in some games, you see one team clearly being allowed to be more physical on defense without getting the hand checks or body fouls. This happens often when the more respected coach is known for having good defensive teams and/or has convinced the refs over time what should or should not be called. It is just human nature for a ref to expect the traditionally better team or coach to be just that.

Hey, I am NO EXPERT, and Hazard/Jenkins was just used as a hypothetical. I am just relaying what I learned from years of sharing lockers and listening to more experienced refs. The refs less immune to this problem are those few officials that have earned enough respect and have enough self-esteem to know that they will still be respected and still 'get the big game assignments' even if their calls go against what might be expected.

Sorry for the speech. I'm off work today.