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Referee Ken Mauer Admits Russell Westbrook Gets Fewer Calls Than He Should Because He’s Too Strong 

One thing about physically-imposing players is that they can get hacked scoring the basketball but get no reward from the referees because they’re strong enough to finish through any given contact. A normal foul call is often missed or ignored because it doesn’t look like a foul on them.  

The NBA universe often calls it the “Shaq treatment”, a term which was obviously coined after NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. A couple of players have to endure this kind of treatment from the referees, and one of them is Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook.

According to former NBA referee Ken Mauer, Westbrook, who averages 6.9 free throw attempts for his career, gets unfairly officiated because he’s too strong when finishing.

“We miss on him and we miss on him because he was so strong, he’d finish. He’d get fouled, and we’d missed plays on him. And I’d go back and look at plays and I’d come to him after the game,”

Ken Mauer admits Russell Westbrook receives an unfair whistle

“We miss on him and we miss on him because he was so strong, he’d finish. He’d get fouled, and we’d missed plays on him. And I’d go back and look at plays and I’d come to him after the game,” pic.twitter.com/Xz4w95J2qS

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 25, 2022