George Kimball America at LargeIt's the rare coach in any sport who doesn't sometimes feel that the officials are ganging up on him, and while virtually every professional league has regulations discouraging criticism of its referees and umpires, stuff happens.

In the wake of a critical loss, a coach who is certain that he's been jobbed by the zebras sometimes can't help himself, and is perfectly willing to invite a fine by venting his frustration.

Such emotional outbursts usually occur in the heat of the moment when the complainant is still reeling, having just helplessly watched defeat snatched from the proverbial jaws of victory.

Such was not the case with Jeff Van Gundy, who last weekend met three newspaper reporters at the Houston Rockets's Dallas hotel and charged that he had been tipped off by an unnamed NBA referee (one who was not working the play-offs) after the second game of his team's play-off series against the Dallas Mavericks that the officials were deliberately targeting Yao Ming, the Rockets's 7ft 6in (2.29m) Chinese centre.

Houston had upset Dallas to take a 2-0 lead in the series when the alleged phone conversation with the anonymous zebra took place. Since then, the Mavericks have won three straight games, in which Yao has been whistled for 5, 5, and 4 personal fouls, and the Rockets find themselves poised on the brink of elimination in tonight's Game Six.

Van Gundy claimed his source told him Yao had been specifically mentioned in an online evaluation emanating from the office of NBA supervisor of officials Ronnie Nunn. The implication was that game referees were instructed to crack down on Yao after Dallas owner Mark Cuban submitted a videotape depicting unpunished transgressions (specifically, offensive fouls in the form of moving picks, or illegal obstruction) by the centre and his Congolese back-up, Dikembe Mutombo, in the first two Houston wins.

Unsurprisingly, NBA commissioner David Stern came down hard on Van Gundy, slapping the Houston coach with a $100,000 fine for having called the integrity of the game into question. Van Gundy probably expected that, and, under the circumstances, probably deserved it.

But Stern went a step further, not only suggesting that Van Gundy could be subject to even more severe procedures - suspension, and a possible lifetime ban by the league - at a later date for having violated Article 24 of the NBA bylaws, which demand co-operation in investigations.

Specifically, Van Gundy is being threatened for not giving up the name of the official who tipped him off about the Yao memo.

In other words, the league isn't denying the existence of the directive, but it is embarrassed that it became public, and they hope to force Van Gundy to rat out the whistle-blowing whistle-blower.

"Jeff is going to have to decide how he wants to proceed in this league, and if it's a good place for him," said Stern in announcing the fine and threat of further action. "If he's going to say things like that, he's not going to continue in this league. If the attitude reflected by those comments continues to be reflected publicly, he's going to have a big problem with me so long as I'm commissioner."

Van Gundy had described his informant only as "another official in the NBA who's not in the play-offs, but someone that I've known forever", which may not make him that difficult to ferret out whether the coach co-operates or not.

In giving voice to his threat, Stern labelled Van Gundy "a perpetrator", while the coach admitted that what he had told reporters "probably looks worse in print".

"I don't have a problem with the officials," said Van Gundy. "I have a problem with the way information is disseminated through the league."

It wouldn't be unusual for the league to have circulated an internal memorandum providing guidelines about how games are being and should be called.

It would be highly unusual, on the other hand, for the NBA to remind its officials to be on the lookout for a specific player, and if that was indeed the case then Jeff Van Gundy's anonymous zebra friend probably deserves a medal.

Instead, it's almost certainly going to cost him his job.

There is some irony in the fact that the league's Yao Policy, if that is indeed what it was, came in response to a complaint filed by Cuban. The Dallas impresario is the most-fined owner in NBA history, having been docked more than a million dollars over the course of his stewardship. This figure includes a world record $500,000 fine levied by Stern after Cuban blasted Ed Rush, Nunn's predecessor as supervisor of officials.

"I wouldn't hire him to run a Dairy Queen," said Cuban of Rush then.

This week he called Van Gundy's press briefing "an insult to officials".

Stern plainly finds it not just ironic but somewhat embarrassing to find himself on the same side of an issue as his longtime bete noir.

"This is when you know the world has been turned upside down," said the commissioner. "When you get support from Mark Cuban, I have to wonder about the validity of my position." Particularly if the Rockets are eliminated tonight and Yao finds himself on the bench in early foul trouble.

Whether the way this series has played out was the result of a conspiracy or merely a self-fulfilling prophecy, Van Gundy's troublesome revelations have clearly hit close to home.