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From:realgm
A study by professors from BYU and Pennsylvania found calls made by NBA referees are influenced by race.
If the three-member referee crew was mostly white, white players received 4 percent fewer fouls than did black players. And if the referees were mostly black, black players received 4 percent fewer fouls.
When all three referees were of a particular race, even stronger biases occurred.
Jerry Sloan defended the impartiality of referees.
"Officials ... it doesn't make any difference who they are, it's a tough job," Sloan said. "And we're kind of tough with them at times, but the most important thing (is) they're trying to do their job the best way they can.
"I don't know how you could get hung up on something like that," he added. "I don't even know why we're commenting on it, to be honest about it."