Heard today on the radio that the NBA has broken off discussions with their referee union in the course of new contract discussions. The NBA plans to begin training replacement refs over the next few weeks in preparation for the upcoming season.
This whole episode has started me thinking on why I watch less professional basketball now than I have in over 20 years. My next thought was that I don’t watch the NBA anymore because of the refs. It’s a fact that the refs in the NBA have more influence over the outcome of the game than the refs of any other sport. (Except maybe gymnastics.) Having seen the NBA zebras repeatedly affect games either by making a borderline call or by not making an obvious call, it seems pointless to watch anymore. The effort of the players seems to matter less and less each year.
Maybe the new refs will make a difference, but I still don’t think that I’ll be watching any NBA games anytime soon. And that’s kind of sad.
Get a new commish and clean up the refs!