Stern upset over protest by NBA refs
Officials mad at league for disciplining ref for bad call
Peter Cosgrove / APReferees, from left, Derrick Collins, Kevin Fehr, and Jim Clark wear their jerseys inside out with the number 62 drawn on the backs during the Cleveland-Orlando game in Orlando on Friday. In an act of protest, NBA referees were wearing their jerseys inside-out on Friday night to show support for referee Michael Henderson who was suspended by the league Wednesday for a blown call. Henderson wore the number 62.
SportsTicker
updated 1:34 p.m. ET Feb. 29, 2004
David Stern has expressed his disappointment with the NBA officials who staged a visible protest of the suspension of referee Michael Henderson at Friday night’s games.
A statement from the National Basketball Referees Association saw its rank and file stage a symbolic protest -- the reversed wearing of their shirts with the number of their colleague.
It did not please the NBA commissioner, who expressed his dismay on Saturday.
“Last night’s display was woefully inconsistent with the professionalism with which NBA officials normally conduct themselves,” Stern said. “There is nothing more to say at this time.”
Referees at the Toronto-Boston game at FleetCenter and Cleveland-Orlando game at TD Waterhouse Centre wore their shirts inside out, obscuring the NBA logo, and wrote Henderson’s No. 62 on the back of the shirts. The theme continued throughout later games.
The league promised more punishment for the referees showing support for Henderson.
“Any official who engaged in this conduct will be subject to appropriate discipline,” NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said in a statement.
Henderson was publicly cited by NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson for an error in the closing moments of Wednesday night’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
Henderson’s call directly affected the outcome of the game, which the Lakers won, 112-111.
Although the league did not announce the suspension, Henderson, 43, was banned for three games pending an evaluation.
But the protest apparently ended after one day.
Officials Dick Bavetta, Tony Brown and Leroy Richardson all wore their shirts the conventional way as NBA play resumed Saturday with the Miami Heat on the road against the New Jersey Nets.
Players and coaches from the Nets and Heat supported the officials
“I’m proud of them,” Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd said before Saturday’s game. “That’s good, unity. They stayed together. It’s freedom of speech. They have to deal with the league about that. Most of them turned their shirts inside out, that was pretty clever.”
Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who has received four technical fouls since taking in late January, respected the officials’ action.
“There are times in life where you have to take a stand for what you believe, and as a group I have to have respect for it,” Frank said.
“You have to respect any group that pulls together and supports one of their own,” Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Neither Frank nor Van Gundy had opinions on the play.
Miami forward Brian Grant said the ruling shows everyone is ultimately answerable to the league.
“If a call is made and the NBA reviews it and they said it’s grounds for a suspension, it’s the same way it’s grounds for a suspension if we say something to a referee,” Grant said. “Nobody is above being policed by the NBA.”
In his first year as lead negotiator for the union, NBRA attorney Lamell McMorris called the removal “unprecedented” because the NBA bypassed a reprimand or fine and instead opted for a suspension.
“The NBA’s decision to remove a referee from officiating games based on a judgment call is in complete contradiction of the established NBA’s officiating performance standards,” McMorris said. “Jackson’s actions will definitely have a chilling effect on the high quality officiating presently provided by NBRA officials.”
In a telephone call, McMorris told SportsTicker he had yet to receive any documentation from the league outlining Henderson’s performance this season.
“This experience is a prime example of the inadequate and inconsistent interpretation of NBA standards presently being experienced by NBA referees,” McMorris concluded.
McMorris has a meeting with the NBA tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning at the league’s offices in New York. Henderson will be represented by McMorris as well as outside counsel.
Once drafted by the New York Knicks and a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters, Henderson is in his third season as an NBA referee. He had worked fewer than 100 games entering this season but spent five seasons in the USBL and four in the WNBA and CBA.
McMorris told SportsTicker he had spoken with Henderson and categorized his mood as “upset, as well as the entire NBRA is upset. He’s more hurt than anything.”
Henderson’s controversial call came with two seconds on the shot clock and the Nuggets nursing a two-point lead. Denver’s Andre Miller put up a shot that hit rim. Rookie Carmelo Anthony grabbed the rebound, but Henderson blew his whistle and indicated a shot-clock violation.
The referees ruled it an inadvertent whistle and Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal won the ensuing jump ball with 27 seconds left. Kareem Rush hit a 3-pointer with three seconds to go, giving the Lakers the win.
“This was an unfortunate call at a highly critical point in the game and we very much regret the error,” Jackson’s statement concluded.
© 2012 PA SportsTicker
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