Wednesday?s edition of The New York Times publishes a story concerning an academic study showing that racial bias exists in the NBA.

The study, authored by a University of Pennsylvania professor, Wolfers, and a Cornell University graduate student, Price, examines 13 NBA seasons from 1991 through 2004 and demonstrates that white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players.

The authors conclude that the disparate treatment by referees ?is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew assigned to the game.?

David Stern told The New York Times that after seeing a draft copy of the study late last year, the NBA commissioned its own study from a vendor that had previously done business with the league.  ?We think our cut at the data is more powerful, more robust, and demonstrates that there is no bias,? Stern said.

However, three independent experts asked by The New York Times to analyze the Wolfers-Price paper and materials released by the NBA said they considered the Wolfers-Price argument far more sound.  When asked to release the data underlying its own study, the NBA denied the request, citing confidentiality concerns.

?I think the analysis that we did can stand on its own,? said Joel Litvin, the NBA?s president of basketball operations, ?so I don?t think our view of some of the things in Wolfers?s paper and some questions we have actually matter as much as the analysis we did.?

?Basically, [the study] suggests that if you spray-painted one of your starters white, you?d win a few more games,? Wolfers said.