Fouled Out: NBA Officially Declares Lockout Of Referees

McMorris Says Players  Worried About Replacements

The NBA has officially notified the National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) that it has declared a lockout of the referees, NBRA Exec Dir Lamell McMorris told SportsBusiness Journal Friday afternoon. "We have just been officially locked out by the NBA," McMorris said. He added that he received an official letter from the NBA "locking out the referees." McMorris declined to comment further, saying he had to talk to the union members before issuing any further comment. The NBA declined comment on McMorris’ statements, but the league did announce Friday afternoon it planned to begin referee training camp yesterday with replacement referees because the NBRA rejected its final contract offer Thursday. Earlier Friday, McMorris said the NBRA has had “initial discussions” with the Teamsters and other unions about not crossing the picket lines if NBRA members are locked out. McMorris: “We are already in discussions. We know who is not going to cross the picket lines -- the folks who deliver liquor, the folks who deliver food.” The referees were scheduled to report to training camp yesterday, but McMorris said there was not enough time to get a deal done for that deadline to be met. McMorris said he has not yet made a formal request for the Teamsters or other unions to honor the referees' picket lines. But he added of the Teamsters, “They do not cross picket lines, that does not happen. Without a doubt we will have picket lines if we are locked out. … I don’t think I need to tell the NBA that.” McMorris said that he has talked to NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter but has not asked NBA players to honor the referees' picket lines “nor would I make that request.” McMorris said that players are concerned about the potential for increased injuries and increased fines if replacement officials are used. “The players know what replacement officials look like and they don’t want to go there" (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).

JUMP BALL: NBA Exec VP & General Counsel Rick Buchanan in a league memo said, "The proposals we have made to the NBRA are extraordinarily fair and reasonable, given the current economic circumstances. Since late 2008, the league and our teams have made far deeper cuts in non-referee headcount and expenses than we are asking for here. It is extremely disappointing that the NBRA has ignored the economic realities, rejected our offer, and left us with no choice but to begin using replacement referees." The NBA "began contacting replacements last Wednesday, the day after the last face-to-face meeting between the sides" in N.Y., which NBA Commissioner David Stern "abruptly ended because he said the officials reneged on a previously agreed to proposal" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/18). In N.Y., Howard Beck noted Buchanan "went into detail about the most contentious issue on the table: the gradual elimination of a severance package that, according to the NBA, provided some referees with a bonus of up to $575,000 upon retirement, in addition to pension benefits in excess" of $2M. McMorris called the disclosure a "low blow." Beck noted replacement referees were "considered a disaster by fans and players alike" when they were last used in '95, and the "notion of replacements officiating regular-season games sent a shudder through some" NBA players. Cavaliers C Shaquille O'Neal Friday said referees are "vital to this league." O'Neal: "They should be treated accordingly. We need perfection out there. The league needs to get this done" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/19).

READY TO RUMBLE? In L.A., Lisa Dillman cited NBA sources as identifying "three key issues of [the] dispute: the future of retirement bonuses, a proposal to mix D-League and WNBA officials on a limited basis into early season assignments for training purposes, and the conversion of pension benefits" (L.A. TIMES, 9/19). Meanwhile, McMorris Friday "reacted angrily to the NBA's decision to cite the starting and senior salaries of referees" in its press release announcing the use of replacement refs. McMorris contends that NBA Senior VP/Referee Operations Ron Johnson received a $50,000 raise this summer "plus a bonus for his work last season," while both NBA VP/Referee Operations Joe Borgia and VP & Dir of Officials Bernie Fryer received $25,000 raises and a bonus. McMorris: "Did they put David Stern's salary in there? Did they put Joe Borgia's raise, Ron Johnson's raise, and Bernie Fryer's raise?" The NBA would not comment on McMorris' claims, but CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger noted they would "seem to fly in the face of the league's argument that the referees should accept the same wide-ranging cost cuts that are occurring throughout the NBA" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/18). Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said, "I don’t think a lot (of NBA owners) understand how good their referees are and why they need them. They see them as an expense, that’s all” (“PTI,” ESPN, 9/18).

RISKING CREDIBILITY? The N.Y. TIMES' Beck reports two referees formerly fired by the NBA -- Michael Henderson and Robbie Robinson -- are "among 44 replacements invited to attend training camp this week." Both Henderson and Robinson were "fired earlier this decade" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/21). In DC, Tom Knott writes as "maddening as the officiating can be" in the NBA, it "promises to become even more infuriating with the replacement referees." Knott: "These are the backups who ply their craft in the WNBA and NBA Development League. ... It is one thing to use replacement referees in the preseason. It will be another to dump them on a public that pays big dollars to attend an NBA game. That will cheapen a product that already has taken a hit in a struggling economy" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/21).