The Replacements

To the common sports fan, the refs are nothing more than the ones that screwed up the game over a bad call.  But the truth is the refs actually have a tough job; really tough.  First of all to be truly objective is near impossible to do, and to dedicate your life to a sport with out actually getting to root for one of the teams is just torture.

The way that I view the NBA referee strike is 2 fold at this point. On the one hand the action taken by the NBA is a little underhanded.  By simply hiring new referees from the NBA development league, the referee’s Union is completely undercut and essentially worthless.  On the other hand, the NBA needs to have refs in order for their games to take place, and they can’t simply sit back and watch as their league falls apart over a silly argument.  Now when I say silly; let me clarify. Senior refs in the NBA are making salary of around $500,000 per year and are concerned because the league would like to revamp the pension and severance packages to be more in accordance with their declining budget.  With the current make-up of the economy, I would say that a half a mil each year isn’t looking to bad right now.

With the possibility of all new referees starting the season as a result of the lockout, I thought it would be interesting to examine the status of the officiating class before and after this change:

Before

Over the past several years, the NBA has received a hailstorm of criticism towards their referee staff, especially in regards to the Tim Donaghy scandal of 2007.  While no ref can make all the right calls all the time, it is the responsibility of the ref to remain consistent in how he represents the rules of the game.  The concept of star treatment in the NBA has become all too familiar as the big name players find it easy to pretty much do what they please with out consequence.  This is especially true when it comes to traveling and foul calls.  Last year at a Wizards/Cavaliers game, Lebron James was called for traveling on a patented “crab dribble” move in the closing seconds of the game.  The sports world was shocked; not that Lebron was capable of traveling, but that the call was made.  This type of officiating should be the norm, not a rarity.  When four steps are taken without a dribble, traveling has occurred.

After

With a potentially brand new, fresh batch of referees entering into the 2009/2010 NBA season, it is possible that the current state of officiating could be vastly improved.  These new refs are by no means new to the game as they are being recruited from the D-League, and have yet to be jaded by the celebrity star power that is housed in the NBA.  This could potentially mean consistent and unbiased calling across the board, no matter who the player.  Now as I mentioned before, officiating is no easy task, and the bump from the D-League to the spotlight will mean added pressure and heavy scrutiny for the freshman class which could result in missed calls and rookie mistakes.  One thing is for sure; however, these new refs want to be there and will make sure that they prove their worth.  Becoming a professional ref is a particularly daunting task and to stay atop of their game, the new batch will be looking to make a good impression on the league.