Gilbert Arenas Confirms NBA Tells Refs to Call Less Fouls on Star Players Like Kobe (Part 21)

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Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas recently confirmed allegations that the NBA has instructed referees to call fewer fouls on star players. In a conversation with Vlad, Arenas emphasized that the NBA is, first and foremost, an entertainment business, not solely focused on following the rules of basketball. He argued that spectators pay to watch stars play, not sit on the bench due to foul calls. He also discussed that there exists favoritism in how some fouls are overlooked or sanctioned. He added that the league would look the other way on certain fouls to allow the entertainment to continue unhindered. The conversation stemmed from a discussion about Tim Donaghy, the ref who was caught betting on his own games. Donaghy previously disclosed that he was notified not to call certain fouls against high-profile players.

[@trueempire8948]

If you watched sports for years you can clearly see how star players get preferential treatment at times in games. This aint nothing knew. But this still doesnt take away from Kobe and other all time great players on what they did in there careers.

[@BKthoroughbred]

Yes, it does. They were “reffed” at a different standard. An intentional bad or missed call definitely changed the outcome of regular, playoff, and championship games. If they games were called “straight” perhaps some of our greats don’t win as many championships and accolades.

[@jwvideos7011]

Like LeBull driving to the lane bulldozing anyone in his way

[@justinwilliams7801]

@@BKthoroughbred facts. Its pretty much WWE! All business number one goal is to make money. Never forget that!

[@RollerBladingSuxs]

It makes perfect sense cause if Kobe fouls out, viewership would go down.

[@eddiemac-637]

yeAH SO CHEAT

[@amirmoney3221]

@@eddiemac-637favorite player must be lebron😂 but u can say that about a lot of every big player

[@anthonyc2781]

Thanks captain obvious

[@cloud218]

Hate to break it to you, all sports are rigged to some degree or another.

[@dreamchaser1419]

How is this rigging tho? All he said was they told them to call fouls that they were missin, essentially sayin "do your mf job youre missin calls" lol

[@John2000sBaby]

@@dreamchaser1419no, he’s saying that theyre telling refs to be selective on their calls against stars, like not call a foul on Kobe, or to call a ticky tack foul against the other team, which is a problem all calls should be made correctly regardless of the player. You misunderstood what was said big time.

[@lonnellbivins4787]

I agree. All of them are rigged. Too much money involved. Even Michael Franzee said the same thing.

[@phenomfacemob1011]

​@dreamchaser1419 what you mean HOW? are u a kid or just out of touch on life

[@TheJonOrtiz]

I met an NBA ref in real life and he said the same exact thing

[@JitinMisra]

So NBA is rigged ?

[@wawawahaginma]

​@@JitinMisra All Sports not just the NBA,

[@tbjb009]

Here come the Kobe defenders in full force 😂🤦🏿‍♂️

[@Emmanuel-ne3oi]

He literally said the NBA told them to do their job of calling fouls when they should have

[@samuraijack10]

This isn't a Kobe only issue dude. Every NBA fan knows superstars get superstars calls. More like Kobe haters like you in full force to take shots

[@dreamchaser1419]

Tim donaghy been lyin for the longest lol and im a bron fan. Plus the "kobe stopper" wasnt raja bell it was ruben patterson so that just show you how his memory is flawed😂

[@ShadyMike]

There's a 100% chance Kobe is better than your favorite player lmao I don't even have to ask who it is. (assuming he's won 3.5 chips though)

[@arizonaFIREent]

Kobe fans are cult like and extremely delusional since he passed

[@johncolon4132]

Gil let’s keep it a buck when you was playing you was getting superstar calls as well 🤦🏿‍♂️let’s not forget the agent 0 era

[@justinthibodeaux6380]

He had a rocket on his back. Nba and adidas was sending him to the moon. Soon as he brought guns to work nba and adidas cut all that shit out and all of a sudden he wasn’t good anymore

[@lonnellbivins4787]

Yep. Gilbert was in on the deal as well.

[@donnelldorsey8544]

Yea Gilbert was a SUPERSTAR!!

[@cloutisadrugtv6906]

Fun fact.. Referees determine the outcomes of the games, not the players 😂

[@melo15813]

They do this with literally every star player so why single out Kobe? BTW is Vlad not a basketball fan? He's treating this info like its some breaking news. Everybody knows this, he's making a story out of nothing

[@samuraijack10]

Vlad hates Kobe because when Kobe was alive he blocked and called him out for spreading fake news about his daughter's basketball team. If you look at the videos Vlad posts about Kobe all negative (Smush, gossiping about his wife, etc.)

[@melo15813]

@@samuraijack10 I didn't know this, that's is disgusting if true.

[@arizonaFIREent]

​​@@melo15813how is it disgusting??? I swear if you don't worship kobe like a god you get called a "hater"

[@melo15813]

@@arizonaFIREent Going after a Man that's deceased because he called you out when he was living is disgusting.

[@jwesttalk]

They’re not singling out Kobe or saying something bad. He’s just using him as an example. It’s not bad it’s just what happens. Superstars get certain calls. This applies to Lebron, T Mac, KG, D.Wade, etc stars at that time and current stars

[@phatlace7568]

No slander just facts. Yall be so sensitive

[@focuz4899]

Tim Donaghy said the same thing about Michael Jordan. He said the league coined a term specifically for Jordan (superstar call). He even said he made a call on Jordan and Phil Jackson reminded him that he's not supposed to call that on Jordan.

[@MattyMadonna]

Damn smh is anything pure anymore?!

[@Gandolph77]

The nba is trash today

[@drechillin2154]

Cause they call everything and it’s way more free flowing today than its ever been

[@bennisford1712]

Agreed.... trash 👎🏿

[@khalilwilliams1818]

no its not its barley any defense

[@getithowulivegetithowulive13]

Vlad has no clue what he’s talking about lmao😂

[@dreamchaser1419]

He really dont lol like i dont think vlad has ever watched a full basketball game

[@markbutcher-st5cp]

Vlad needs to stop … this piece of crap has no validity in anything he says 💯💯

[@bigolbabyhuey]

The refs were definitely letting Shaquille O'Neal get away with blatant offensive fouls *_ALL THE TIME_*

[@justineebourgeois3420]

Cuz Shaq is the Greatest Big Man of all-time 🤷‍♀️

[@bigolbabyhuey]

@@justineebourgeois3420 He's the greatest big man of all time because of help from the refs

[@Darkspotlight28]

​@@justineebourgeois3420 wilt chamberlain

[@YouTubeaidsreal]

It was actually the complete opposite if you knew anything about basketball

[@Nedo_ao]

Shaq legit got foul 10x more than it was called because of his size and strength, it actually hurts you more if you're strong in the NBA.

[@ericcopeland7869]

This is not news frfr.. if you watching basketball from last 20years it’s easy to see

[@dwaynerhodes6423]

It's an entertainment business

[@DeionSardines]

Exactly

[@IBleedGreenakaDogHouse]

One of the most blatant examples of refs favoring stars was Warriors vs Lakers halfway through the season. Lakers got 37 FTs to Warriors 13!! Curry was getting hacked all game and he ripped his jersey after the game because he was so mad. Lakers 100% get help from the refs. The FT differential is just absolutely ridiculous! It’s in the thousands lol! I know last season it was 400 more FTs than the next team.

[@donnelldorsey8544]

This is true, but what I can say is the Lakers don't shoot the ball well, so they probably avg the most Points in the Paint this year as well, so naturally you can equate the FT advantage to the fact they are attacking the rim more than all teams! The NBA is more perimeter based, if you have a team always going in for layups it's just common sense they will get fouled more!

[@IBleedGreenakaDogHouse]

@@donnelldorsey8544 nope. Nice try but they don’t drive in as much as a lot of other teams. They get help from the refs, if they didn’t they wouldn’t even make the playoffs. Go look at the Raptors game vs Lakers, refs stole it from raptors and that’s when their coach spazzed out!

[@KennethWilliams-xg3ix]

Been telling people this 20 years not taking anything away from jordan but him winning the way he did was what's best for the nba it was all business people need to look up the meaning of entertainment the NFL went to entertainment way back in the day because of low scoring

[@Fearlessthoughts90]

I never look at it like this until now

[@vincentwallace7447]

It was Ruben Patterson who got called the "Kobe Stopper"

[@kingmoss3]

Gilbert so knowledgeable I love watching him now lol

[@Eastsiderep40]

Superstar players get superstar calls. They definitely get better treatment the role players or 12th man on the bench.

[@CarbinKid]

I thought everyone knew this.

[@stevenscummy1458]

I want to see a game of 85-80, it's a shame so many people just want to see the ball in the air instead of defense

[@odm87]

Ticket sales were declining, b/c low scoring games. Fans were “bored” so a more offensive game was pushed.

[@donnelldorsey8544]

Nobody else wants to see a 85-80 game, yea it's nice to see players give an effort on defense, but as a former collegiate player, I have to say, people watch the game to see BUCKETS! A player who avg 25ppg in high school but doesn't play defense will get a scholarship way before a player who avg 8ppg but was a LOCKDOWN DEFENDER! At every level the name of the game is " PUT THE BALL IN THE BASKET" ! The NBA just is capitalizing on the surge of Talent and skill in this generation!

[@stevenscummy1458]

@@donnelldorsey8544 Defensive game or not, above all it's nice to see this current new generation of stars seemingly focused on the game more than the other bs, and competitiveness in the league coming back. VS the mid and late 2010s where guys were just worried about how much time off they could get, how much they could party, and empty stats to get cash then requesting trades every other week

[@1FoolieHendrixx]

Damn I forgot all about MARK Mcgrawer lol (SpellCheck)

[@larry7960]

“They came to see him play, not drink Gatorade.” True shit.

[@2PokeDoke]

It was Rueben Patterson the Kobe stopper

[@ddjyt2009]

Nah, we want to hear the names of the nba officials who gave the “code red” order 🤣🤣🤣

[@MR.MAY0]

This definitely makes sense now

[@andrewthaw246]

Bro they do this with every superstar ... when you a superstar you get away with more EVERYONE knows this

[@ctrl-shift-run8681]

Yeah entertainment is definitely factored into the product.

[@jerrywilliams3373]

I KNEW IT!

[@thehypocriticalcynic9182]

Can't be mad at honesty, took them a while though...sheesh.

[@davethomas543]

I fouled outta every game I ever played.......

[@velimasuku8808]

AD had 5 fouls last night 😂

[@1724kingcobra]

Noo, noo, noo. I wanna see those 80-90 pt games. Those be the best ones.

[@kodythegoat8754]

Bruce Bowen bit Rajah Bell

[@Mercury804]

Vlad got all the Pete Rose info wrong lol

[@vladtv]

Watch the full interview now as a VladTV KZbin Member - kzbin.infojoin

[@nialljohn510]

Forget Kobe this was going on when mJ was playing dude 6-0 in the finals

[@trueempire8948]

Yeah 6-0 the goat keep crying.

[@mnice1079]

Facts.

[@dlmarh76]

cope. tell Bron to top taking steroids and flopping

[@nialljohn510]

@@trueempire8948 quite glazing ur crying 6-0 like u were on the team old head

[@TeflonKenzo]

So if y’all know now that the NBA controls the narrative can you really consider someone a quote on quote GOAT of the NBA was doing things in a players favor so they can get/have better accolades 🤔

[@jay_officialtv4000]

He exposing but tryina make examples 😂😂😂

[@2805jayman]

Vlad trying to highlight Kobe in this, when it applies for LEBRON and every other superstar..🤷🏾‍♂️

[@KMT15]

No, this is coming from Tim because his examples are coming from what he says he was told about Kobe games specifically.

[@2805jayman]

@@KMT15 YES and at 3:30 LeBum is mentioned also.🤦🏽‍♂️

[@dreamchaser1419]

@@2805jayman Youre 🌈? Why do you have to use derogatory terms lol be a man.

[@dreamchaser1419]

@@2805jayman Why you got use derogatory terms lol as a grown man.

[@2805jayman]

@@dreamchaser1419 Is "bum" really the worst or most derogatory thing I could say as a grown man lol? What are you, a toddler??

[@nickatnite16]

Pete Rose was not the GM,he was the manager

[@Keglocc]

It wasn’t Raja Bell it was Ruben Patterson who referred himself as “the Kobe stopper”

[@scottdavidson9963]

Been this way since forever.

[@John2000sBaby]

You would never know when a guy is about to hit a home run, Vlad

[@Duffield_World89]

😂😂😂😂 Kobe!!!!

[@twanmack2686]

Never knew Pete Rose was the General Manager of the Reds. I knew of him being the Manager of the Reds tho

[@JaySityEnt]

Shane Battier was the Kobe stopper

[@travino]

Slamball without trampolines 👍🏿

[@GLA45Amg716]

Umm no shit. It’s like that in every league. Look at the nfl when they have star teams. They let certain corners get away with holding like a mf. It’s been happening.

[@jomen7961]

Basically telling u to call the fouls u missed the previous game. How that is it protecting the stars players?

[@yadigggjackson4214]

Refs Calling a Charge, It’s not a kill joy at the end of the game, if the superstar is the one make the Stop 🛑lol. 😂 NBA IS FANTASTIC !!!

[@Mo1683]

So what? Why’s this a conversation?

[@daowonimdee]

....and the sky is blue.

[@TraxxJamez2088]

Wrong hand signal for an “and 1”

[@jhammaster]

I dont want to hear no one bring up lebron and ref's in an argument about kobe ever again...

[@khalilwilliams1818]

I said this shit for years but is obvious. star players get away with traveling ,foul calls. it's the entertainment now even more so with gambling . I haven't watch the nba seriously since 2018

[@kiromurphy05]

thats why you dont bet on sports its all b.s no ref should have personal feelings towards any player but easier said than done.

[@docblaze7230]

Pete Rose was the manager not the general manager. Big difference…. He’s in the dugout with the players and controls who plays and who doesn’t play….. Pete Rose in my opinion, with out a doubt should be in the Hall of Fame…

[@tonteaux1]

The NBA probably sent an unofficial memo about low scoring games. The past few years the scores are reminiscent of the old ABA era. Even the losing teams be scoring 120 points.🤣🤣😆😆

[@Richiefreshhh]

Although NBA is classified as a league still, unlike the NFL which is an entertainment league since 2015.. The NBA has definitely been going that route. I can clearly see it as of the last few years.

[@ddjyt2009]

“Jordan rules”

[@doublej6358]

If this happens in the nba,..does it happen in college,...highschool, ..middleschool,..heck 'll'dribblers'?

[@Jay12Dizzle]

Suns have had the short end of the stick for plenty of playoff runs due to favoritism and rigging of the game smh

[@unclejj9600]

Gil can say it now but when he played and its not in his favor he didn't like that

[@lamart3857]

If its about entertainment thats the case why does a star player get a tech for making eye contact after dunking on somebody? And why does a star player get a tech for hanging on the rim?

[@alex1vid]

The NBA is difficult for me to watch. They basically legislated defense out of the game and a consequence, IMHO you don't need offensive plays really so coaches aren't as valuable. What's also shifted is that star players don't always care to play in the regular season games. There isn't a 'duty' or responsibility they feel to play more or harder than they have to. So you get stuff like the All Star game. All those points and guys that don't even really value the selection or game. Then Silver had the nerve to be visibly frustrated. It's the monster he helped create.

[@kevbarre6188]

The NBA had, 'jordan rules,' go figure.

[@user-ml4ky7px8g]

Mann the refs never help my 3 leg parlays

[@hernseugene6432]

Barry Bonds has never been caught

[@josephculpepper8725]

Bell lol

[@srtghost3842]

Allen Iverson has more 8ft attempts per game seasons than Lebron.

[@death2you459]

Vlad couldn't answer the question about Pete Rose. But a black entertainer or athlete?? He's WELL versed.

[@lamart3857]

You should be allowed to make a straight bet that your team will win theres no conflict of interest and is actually showing confidence in your team

[@thehypocriticalcynic9182]

Gotta respect the NBA giving Sheed some fine-money back... That could have been a smudge on his business reputation...

[@anthonyw895]

Lakers be getting plenty free throws

[@Mb-yy7qi]

GIL just said it scripted‼️👏

[@ronald8071]

No he didn't

[@AMACHiiBiong]

So, the question now is: is the Euro League more honest than the NBA?

[@justsayin7865]

This is why im not a serious sports head, you don't know if what you're watching is reality, i know just want to see the best athletes play, their athleticism and dominance,no certain team, but that is somewhat corrupted with PED's

[@Mercury804]

I agree about the dunks lmao. Bball purists are going to hate me, but I too would NEVER call charge on a poster lmao

[@BRADCASTLIVETV]

And this my friends is why sports are rigged..when you can have selective calls somebody getting robbed

[@user-kl4zc9ow5d]

KOBE was a beast on the basketball court

[@vokendrick7617]

I believe it, but it is all bullsh$! I don't care if a star player fouls out. A foul is a foul. Play better defense / make the call.

[@user-cw7ly8nu5j]

Not surprised Lakers got more FT than others 😅😅😅😅

[@cartersports1]

VLAD slow the man literally said we was shown fouls that was missed the previous the game n was told not to miss them this game..This nicca act like he said they told them to call phantom fouls 😂😂😂

[@sdestatus411]

Gilbert’s explanation didn’t justify or make anything make sense. You can tell people the older legends can’t play today’s game because today’s bball players are better but yet his explanation is saying something Different in essence

[@franciscoalvarez5736]

Gil hates kobe at this point or tries to discredit him at any time he gets lik a sneak disser but homie aha 😂😂😂😂

[@chilljackswerve6814]

Facts

[@donnelldorsey8544]

It's not Gil, it's VLAD!!! he just does is passive aggressive but he brings up Kobe negatively so that whoever he is interviewing goes off that energy! Like with the ref, he said so there was a time the league was FAVORING KOBE! he didnt say favoring stars, and even while hearing the story he specifically stayed focused on Kobe, saying it's crazy that the league would tell them to give HIM specific calls, HE WAS THE ONE WHO HIGHLIGHTED KOBE, but he knows how to spark it then sit back and have the interviewee talk bad, but its all the set up from Vlad

[@donbunn3135]

Why you only say Kobe say all of them

[@billingtonmarc25]

Fewer*

[@inBAMwetrust]

And y’all think they didn’t help jordan 😅

[@josephbrent3475]

Vlad is stretching truth to make a catchy headline and the ref is answering honestly but not calling it what it really was. NBA in generally wants all players to score more but they use stars as the examples for refs to study. How silly would it be to pull refs together to study fouls vs. bench players

[@tys1646]

This is guy why I don’t watch the nba and nfl anymore 😂 👏

[@demigodt34]

Refs was definitely after a.i

[@detorreonpla3424]

Money makes the rules.... simple

[@Zaybreeze]

Vlad is still salty Kobe blocked him

[@jamesmiller6294]

Sounds like they’re businessmen they know people are at these games to see Kobe we want Kobe to be as dominant as possible here are some fouls on Kobe nothing being called don’t make these mistakes don’t treat him special but make sure if he is fould that it is called

[@fltayyy3hunnedsoldiers359]

Raja bell was the defender that locked kobe that series

[@California-king]

☝️ 2️⃣ 3️⃣ 🍀✋🏾💍..... locked who?

[@rogerpozzi1060]

Why they not call fouls Curry? It’s league influenced, and I see it! Just confirming it! Same as NFL

[@myckelhutchinson]

Bad for the game