ESPN announcers say fans' perceptions of bias are typical

 http://www.sports.com/
If you’re a fan of the Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks and start believing over the next two weeks that ABC’s broadcast crew of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson is rooting against your team, you’re probably not alone.

You’re also wrong, according to the announcers, who say they hear complaints about their alleged favoritism all the time.


Breen and Jackson were responding to questions from an Oklahoma City reporter, who implied Thunder fans believed the broadcast team was pulling for the Mavs during the Western Conference finals.
custom jerseys
“There's no way in the world that we have anything against the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Jackson said.

“... Our job is to speak the facts. The facts are that a couple of games in the series there were breakdowns, and they didn't play as well as they could have played. They had a couple of games won, and they did not win them. But they had a great season, and they should be extremely proud.”

Breen added, “I think overall broadcasts are more critical in the playoffs in terms of what a team is doing and what a certain player is doing. And I think that's why sometimes the fans might be a little sensitive, because also their emotions are running high.”
custom nfl jerseys 
Jackson and Breen both said a perception of bias is very common among fans.

“Almost every series. It's amazing,” Breen said. “We'll go into the NBA Finals and just say, for example, last year, we'll go into Boston and the Celtic fans will say, ‘Boy, it's clear you guys are rooting for the Lakers,' and then the series will shift to L.A., and the Laker fans will say, ‘Boy, it's obvious you guys are rooting for the Celtics.' That's just part of the job, and I've talked to announcers who do the World Series or a Super Bowl, and they get a lot of the same stuff.”

“I think that happens not just every series but every game,” Jackson added.