NBA referees are better than you think

By John McMullen

(The Phan) - When you talk approval ratings, the only thing that might be able to match America's distaste of its own Congress is the officiating in the NBA.

David Stern's referees have always been the butt of jokes, a reputation that only worsened after the Tim Donaghy fixing scandal.

Those who follow the game closely know Donaghy was more of a scapegoat for the NBA's critics.

Even before the rogue ref tried to throw some of his colleagues under the bus by alleging that the league routinely encouraged refs to call bogus fouls in order to manipulate results, most fans already felt the league's officials were doing just that. Heck, even Mark Cuban thought that way...when his team was on the losing end, of course.

Still perception is far greater than reality. Despite the fact that four or five NFL games this weekend will be decided by men in striped shirts, and any Major League Baseball game can hinge on whether the home plate umpire decides to give Jamie Moyer the outside corner, the perception has always been that NBA officials were the incompetent and corrupt ones.

A lifelong contrarian, I've always thought differently.

In fact, considering the speed of the game and the confined quarters, I've always thought the top NBA referees, guys like Joey Crawford, Steve Javie and Bob Delaney, were the best of any major professional sport.

Sure, Crawford or Javie's confrontational style can rub me the wrong way occasionally but, at the end of the day, I feel comfortable with the job they and their peers do.

More often than not, each and every NBA team is getting a fair shake on a daily basis.

It's now very possible you will understand why I have such respect for the NBA's officials.

Talks with the league's referees broke down this week, in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal before they were to report to training camp. Stern reportedly ended a Tuesday meeting abruptly when it was clear the NBA Referees Association was not going concede to the league's new terms.

Stung by the faltering economy, Stern is looking to cut corners everywhere, and that includes his officials. In fact, the NBA is said to be seeking a hefty rollback in its officiating budget, believed to be $3.2 million. Salaries, travel costs, health and pension contributions among the league's 61 referees would all be slashed to achieve the proposed savings.

To its credit, the NBA Referees Association has been pragmatic and open to a reduction, but more in the neighborhood of $2.5 million.

"I think it would be accurate to say that we had the meeting, that we didn't make any progress and that there are no future meetings scheduled," Stern said Tuesday to NBA TV. "Referees are a valuable part of our game and we've tried to treat them accordingly."

All 61 officials are expected to hold out for the better terms. In turn, the NBA is preparing to use replacement officials from the WNBA, the NBADL, and the college ranks if a deal is not reached.

That has disaster written all over it.

More often than not, the devil you know is a lot better than the devil you don't.

Stern and his league's fans are about to find that out.