duncan228
10-02-2009, 02:01 PM
Replacement Referees Take to Court, and No Criticism Allowed (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/sports/basketball/02refs.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss)
By Howard Beck
The New York Times
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Replacement referees are working N.B.A. games for the first time in 14 years, with the league offering assurances that they are superior to those used in the past. If they are not, do not expect a major outcry from players and coaches.
League policy prohibits public criticism of referees, with violators subject to fines, and that includes criticism of replacements. N.B.A. officials reminded teams of that in a memo sent Wednesday.
“The replacement referees should be allowed to perform their difficult task free of public criticism by team personnel,” says the memo, which was obtained by The New York Times and other news organizations.
The memo threatens violators with “substantial fines,” which has been standard league practice. In April, three coaches were fined (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-04-28-coaches-fined_N.htm) $25,000 each for criticizing referees.
During the N.B.A.’s last lockout of referees, in 1995, players and coaches freely and frequently groused about the poor quality of the replacements. No one was fined, although the rules were in place. The league was generally more lax about enforcement then.
“I can assure you, there will be less of that this time around,” Joel Litvin, the N.B.A.’s president of basketball operations, said Thursday in a conference call with reporters.
The first three replacements — Tre Maddox, Deldre Carr and C. J. Washington — took the court Thursday night in Utah, as the Jazz opened the preseason against the Denver Nuggets.
The N.B.A. has hired 62 replacements, but league officials have declined to provide the full list. Litvin said he was concerned about the “intense scrutiny” the referees would receive and said he preferred to let the names become public gradually, as assignments were posted on NBA.com.
Of the replacements, league officials said, 36 came from the N.B.A.’s Development League and 57 have worked in N.B.A. summer leagues. Because most of the replacements come from the N.B.A.’s own pipeline, and have been trained by N.B.A. officials, the league says they are better prepared as a group than those used in 1995.
The replacement staff also includes two referees who were fired by the N.B.A. this decade: Michael Henderson and Robbie Robinson. Ron Johnson, the N.B.A.’s senior vice president for referee operations, insisted that their dismissal did not necessarily mean they were poor referees.
“The reason that Henderson and Robinson are not with the current staff is because, relative to that current staff, they were not performing,” Johnson said.
No progress has been made in talks between the N.B.A. and the referees union this week. The referees’ negotiating committee initially agreed to a deal last Friday, but reversed itself two days later at a meeting with the full membership. The referees then rejected the contract by a 43-14 vote.
By Howard Beck
The New York Times
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Replacement referees are working N.B.A. games for the first time in 14 years, with the league offering assurances that they are superior to those used in the past. If they are not, do not expect a major outcry from players and coaches.
League policy prohibits public criticism of referees, with violators subject to fines, and that includes criticism of replacements. N.B.A. officials reminded teams of that in a memo sent Wednesday.
“The replacement referees should be allowed to perform their difficult task free of public criticism by team personnel,” says the memo, which was obtained by The New York Times and other news organizations.
The memo threatens violators with “substantial fines,” which has been standard league practice. In April, three coaches were fined (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-04-28-coaches-fined_N.htm) $25,000 each for criticizing referees.
During the N.B.A.’s last lockout of referees, in 1995, players and coaches freely and frequently groused about the poor quality of the replacements. No one was fined, although the rules were in place. The league was generally more lax about enforcement then.
“I can assure you, there will be less of that this time around,” Joel Litvin, the N.B.A.’s president of basketball operations, said Thursday in a conference call with reporters.
The first three replacements — Tre Maddox, Deldre Carr and C. J. Washington — took the court Thursday night in Utah, as the Jazz opened the preseason against the Denver Nuggets.
The N.B.A. has hired 62 replacements, but league officials have declined to provide the full list. Litvin said he was concerned about the “intense scrutiny” the referees would receive and said he preferred to let the names become public gradually, as assignments were posted on NBA.com.
Of the replacements, league officials said, 36 came from the N.B.A.’s Development League and 57 have worked in N.B.A. summer leagues. Because most of the replacements come from the N.B.A.’s own pipeline, and have been trained by N.B.A. officials, the league says they are better prepared as a group than those used in 1995.
The replacement staff also includes two referees who were fired by the N.B.A. this decade: Michael Henderson and Robbie Robinson. Ron Johnson, the N.B.A.’s senior vice president for referee operations, insisted that their dismissal did not necessarily mean they were poor referees.
“The reason that Henderson and Robinson are not with the current staff is because, relative to that current staff, they were not performing,” Johnson said.
No progress has been made in talks between the N.B.A. and the referees union this week. The referees’ negotiating committee initially agreed to a deal last Friday, but reversed itself two days later at a meeting with the full membership. The referees then rejected the contract by a 43-14 vote.