I don’t give a damn about the refs.
Not an iota. Not a strand. Not a leaflet. Not a smidgen. Couldn’t care less that they feel they shouldn’t be surrendering anything in this economy. Couldn’t care less that they want to keep in measures that allow people who were middle aged when Greg Oden was born in the year 1500 BC to keep reffing. Don’t give a damn about what they’ve had to sacrifice for their jobs, what with all the nice hotel rooms, six figure salaries, and the fact that they officiate NBA games for a living.
“Their kids never see their fathers!” is the cry. As if it’s some hard life they’ve been forced into. As if officiating is a calling, that they were meant to do, to help society. Are you kidding me? I’m not saying it’s not a hard job. It definitely is. So is molecular biologist. So is fireman. So is Congressman/woman… okay, maybe not. But still! I’m willing to listen to their arguments, but I’m not willing to act like they have been giving some great sacrifice. You get paid six figures. Lots of jobs that don’t pay six figures require time on the road away from family. You want to spend lots of time with your kids, get a reffing job with a small college.
Furthermore, does everyone realize that most of this is about the fact that the referees are older than dirt? I think they do a good job, again. But can you blame the league for wanting to start looking down the road at younger options? Staying ahead of problems is the biggest challenge for a sports league, because so often, you never know where they’re going to come from. Twitter’s a great example of this. Three years ago, this whole social media policy was incomprehensible. Now it’s an absolute necessity. If they’ve got a problem they can see developing, they have an obligation to address it. That’s not forcing the officials out, that’s being ahead of the problem.
What really grinds my gears irritates me is the players’ union obviously pushing PR efforts towards the refs’ union. You’ve got players left and right coming out and complaining about replacement officials, like they actually care. That’s about money. Straight up. The players’ union is already in CBA talks for 2011. They want as much leverage as they can get in a weak economy, and the refs’ union provides them an opportunity to further their own agenda. It’s hilarious to me to see this behavior of protecting the same guys that the players blast year-round. These guys constantly make comments in the post-game conferences about the officiating, are always barking. “The replacement refs are going to be terrible!” You already think the actual referees are terrible! “Yeah, but they’ll be MORE terrible!”
It’s also amusing to me that there’s this push for acting like the 95-96 replacement refs are the exact same people. The D-League and to a certain extent the WNBA have provided a training ground for the league to improve its referees. These guys are used to the NBA speed. They’re not college refs blown away by the increased speed and athleticism. Will there be calls they as players or we as fans don’t agree with? Absolutely. Guess what? Same deal with the current refs. Unless you haven’t noticed every time you’ve jumped out of your chair and threatened to do something horrible involving a plastic bag and a coke can to the old bald guy on your screen, or haven’t seen the constant, non-stop jabbering by players at the officials.
The union has blown their leverage. At this point the league’s already compromised on too much. Personally, I think they should have held out more on bringing down salaries to NBA front office administrative levels. Yeah, that’s right. You know why? Officials should do their job reliably, quietly, and consistently. They’re equipment with shoes.
Sorry if I’m not getting all bent out of shape about a group that consistently makes players, coaches, and fans insane not getting everything they want.
