here’s one in nearly every basketball officials' association. Sometimes they’re named Peter, Paul, or Marty; occasionally Dick, rarely Jane. And, let’s be frank: They’re usually called last by the assignor. For the sake of discussion, I will pick a representative member of this group and call him George.

What turns George, an otherwise noble human being, into an officiating pariah? Two words: three seconds. Well, there’s more to it than that, but his fixation on three seconds is the most common symptom and usually portends deeper problems.

George, however, sees himself as a purist, a rulebook fundamentalist, a humble striped knight whose sacred quest is to enforce the black and white letter of the law. George has a remarkably different view of the game than you and I. To George, the rules don’t exist to serve the game; the game exists to serve the rules. He doesn’t admit that he looks at it like that, of course. But that’s the net effect.

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