“Why’s that?” Shealyn chuckled. “I’m sure the other networks would let you have dinner with them.”
“It’s not that. More people watch the games on your network, so there are more eyes on us.”
“More eyes?” Nicole furrowed her brow. She knew her network’s ratings for WNBA games were the best, but thought that only mattered to them and their sponsors.
“People watch the players, but there’s more to the game,” Maggie explained. “They might tune in to hear you and Shealyn, but they also see us. The officials.”
Nicole glanced at Shealyn and saw the confusion on her face as well.
“If we call a good game, people notice,” Maggie went on.
“I thought if the officials did a good job during the game then theywouldn'tbe noticed,” Nicole said.
“True, but sometimes things happen,” Maggie said. “Strange circumstances can lead to unusual plays. How we handle those makes a difference.”
“Okay, I get that,” Nicole said. “And since you brought it up, it took way too long for the officials to come to a decision on the challenges tonight.”
“I know,” Maggie said. “That depends on the crew chief. The final decision is up to them. I can give my opinion and we can decide as a group, but that can take time.”
“I’m afraid until you come up with a quicker way to decide challenges then Nicole and I will not be gentle with our comments on the air,” Shealyn said.
“There are times when that break for a challenge can be used in a beneficial way,” Maggie said. “If tensions are high and tempers are flaring then the review time-out can be used to calm the players down. It’s a way the officials can keep control of the game.”
“I thought you did that by calling fouls,” Keith said, leaning over to get into the conversation.
“Fouls are another way to do that,” Maggie said.
“Yeah, but only if they’re warranted,” Nicole said. She knew that some referees could be more strict than others.
“What about players that like to complain about every call you make?” Keith asked.
“There are ways officials can send messages to players by the calls we make,” Maggie said, raising a brow.
“You do that?” Nicole tilted her head.
Maggie shrugged. “We can call a game tight in the beginning to send a message on how we plan to officiate the game. Or we can call a foul on a player who needs to know we’re the ones in control of the game.”
Nicole narrowed her gaze at Maggie. Something about this conversation rubbed Nicole the wrong way. She knew officials had to keep control of the game, but calling tacky fouls to send a message or make a point was not good sportsmanship. Officials had to take criticism from players, coaches, management, and sometimes her and Shealyn, but it was part of their jobs. The difference between good and subpar officials, in Nicole’s opinion, was how they reacted to it.
“What about integrity? Does that mean you’d call a foul when there isn’t one?” Nicole asked.
Maggie met her gaze and shrugged. “It’s all in how I see it.”
Nicole nodded and was grateful their food arrived thus ending this conversation. She had always been wary of Maggie and now she knew why. Nicole respected officials and oftentimes thought they received unwarranted criticism, but from what Maggie said tonight, she deserved the criticism.
Most of the time Nicole was quick to side with the officials because they usually had a better view of a play than she and Shealyn did, but Maggie’s words gave her pause. She wasn’t naive and knew there were officials who had their favorites, but most of the league’s officials were the utmost professionals.
Nicole couldn’t wait to talk to Ariana about this. She wondered if there were officials Ariana knew to look out for or welcomed calling her games. When she finished eating, she onceagain reached for her phone and sighed when there was not a text from Ariana.
“Everything okay?” Shealyn asked.
Nicole looked over at her and smiled. “Yep.” She took a sip of her drink and pushed back from the table. “I’m going up to the room.”
People started to get up and gather their things.
“Thanks again for letting me have dinner with you,” Maggie said.
“Thank Shealyn,” Nicole said. “This was her party.”
