After failing to negotiate a new contract with the referees union, the NBA locked out its officials Friday and began making plans to start the season with a group of replacement referees.The league has been asking for significant concessions from the union, most notably a reduction in pension benefits. The league has said that it wants the union to accept a deal that is more in line with the compensation awarded its office employees and administrative staff.
In responses to the league's demands, Julie Davis, the wife of veteran NBA official Marc Davis, wrote this letter to the National Basketball Referees Association executive board to provide a family's perspective.
FanHouse obtained a copy of the letter from the NBRA.
"These past few weeks have been a very trying time for our family, as I am sure they have been for the families for all of the 57 NBA referees. The stress of worrying about a lockout has been, at times, overwhelming. We have three small children to feed, clothe, and educate. Like most American families, we have a mortgage and bills to pay. These bills do not know what the word "lockout" means.
"What has been most disheartening, however, is accepting the fact that the sacrifices that all of our families make year in and year out appear to be meaningless to the NBA and David Stern. The 'offers' made by the NBA are insulting to our families.
"The NBA has repeatedly stated that their goal this year is to bring the referees compensation and benefits more in line with the rest of the NBA office employees and its administrative staff. But referees are not office and administrative staff. They do not wake up at home each morning and see their kids off to school before heading to a job from which they get to return home each night, if not for dinner, then to tuck their kids in and kiss them good night. They do not get to sleep in their own beds with their spouses by their sides.
"While I don't know for certain, I would guess that most of the NBA office employees do not miss their kid's school plays, parent-teacher conferences, sports practices and games, graduations, Christmas mornings, and other holidays. Their husbands and wives do not have to explain to their children each morning and night for 10 months of the year that daddy or mommy will not be coming home again today and won't be home again for the next ten days either. I can tell you from first-hand experience that three, four and five year olds do not get that concept very well. All of this is not to diminish the value of the NBA office and administrative staff. They obviously play a crucial role in the day-to-day workings of the League. But in reality the jobs of an office worker and an NBA referee are not the same. Comparing the two is not comparing apples to apples, but instead it is trying to make an apple an orange.
"By even making the comparison in the first place, David Stern runs the risk of changing a 'craft' into a job. Though the NBA office staff is some of the best in the world, you can find anyone to do a job, not everyone is a true craftsman. The men and women who work this job are true craftsmen. Though frequently criticized by fans and the media, they are the best in the world at what they do and I am proud to be the wife of one. They cannot be replaced by placing an ad in the classifieds and picking out a new hire from the folks who line up at the door. If they could, then perhaps the deal the NBA is offering makes sense.
"It does not, however, make sense given the sacrifices our families make every day. I would even go so far as to say that the sacrifice we make is larger than that that made of anyone in the NBA, including the players. Whatever the public perception may be, the referees do not have huge contracts, fly on private planes, or get to work half of their games at home. They are regular people, who trek around from city to city, airport to airport, arena to arena, and practice their craft to provide for their families.
"In any given season, we are lucky if my husband works three home games in a 75-game schedule. We are lucky if he is home more than five 24-hour periods a month. Who else on the NBA staff can say they do the same? Players can't. David Stern can't. Office staff can't, nor can anyone else who works for the NBA. Referees are unique in what they give to and what they give up for the game.
"And so what are all of these sacrifices for? Why are we missing holidays together and games and school events? So that the NBA can tell all of us that our sacrifice is meaningless and that it is worth no more to them than what the office worker, who jumps on and off the train, each day does? That seems ludicrous by any rational measure.
"It was not my dream to be an NBA referee. It was not our kid's dream to have a father who is one either. But it is a dream we are fully committed to supporting because it is my husband's dream. I take on single parenthood and being a 'referee widow' because I love my husband and believe in him and his dream. All that has happened with this contract just has me questioning whether the NBA realizes the sacrifices 57 families of their employees make to continue to put out the 'best product in the world.'"
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Excellent letter Stern should be ashamed comparing admin to refs. If Stern does not respect or appreciate the refs then he does not respect the people. People spend billions on organized sports because there is Accountability. Refs are a Huge part of this industry being accountable. I mean in America, I feel safe because there are rules and people are held accountable and I know there are trained professionals that enforce those rules – but if America got all new “Replacement Enforcers” I would not feel so safe. Stern is making a mockery of the system, pay the enforcers. The closest Stern gets to Players is when he shakes their hands on draft day and makes things official. Let him get up close and call foul with seconds left in a game and suddenly a players livelihood is potentially in jeopardy based on the Ref’s call. Can he or any other admin staff take that heat certainly NOT REPLACEMENTS.
I am not a "casual" fan, but a loyal NBA fan. I agree with djones. Stern runs the NBA like a dictator. How can the league get rid of him and have the league run by a member board? If anyone finds out how this can be done, let me know. The "tyrannt" needs to go!
Amen to the fact that referees are not your typical office workers. League officials should be ashamed. I hope the refs win this one!
Wah, Wah, wah. These guys are overpaid, underworked, and contribute nothing positive to the game. I am only a casual fan, and I could referee a game fairly and easily. I may not know the intricicies of the craft, but it's not that damned complicated. Let 'em walk if they want. I have no problem with a player making megabucks. because his worth is determined by the market place and is correlated to revenue produced, whereas nobody, repeat nobody, pays their money to watch a damned corrupt ref.
youre an idiot and could never ref an NBA game. once again, you are a complete moron
Ed you have NO IDEA what you are talking about. Did you not read the article? Do you have any idea what a referee does? UNDERWORKED??? Maybe you should do more research before making idiotic statements. These guys travel 25 days out of the month. Have you ever flown on a commercial airline and had to experience the delays or flight cancellations? On top of everything else they get to deal with that! If a flight gets cancelled they get to drive sometimes all night in the snow so they can make it to the game on time. The NBA just signed a MULTI-BILLION dollar TV contract and they want to cut pay and their pensions? Talk about a punch in the gut for all the ridicule these guys go through. I feel bad for them. Especially the ones that would love to be working and not sitting at home because of this crap. Yes, these are hard times and everyone is suffering but in an industry like the NBA, they are not hurting for money.
Ironically, you final point, which is correct, undercuts your arguement. The only ones who want to watch corrupt officials are the ones who want to exploit them or weed them out. And if a ref gives in to one gambler, another gambler may be very eager to weed him out, because it might have cost him big money by his standards. Probably the most reasonably starting point for working conditions and salaries for refs is to start for rookie and veteran refs with comparisons from rookie and veteran athlete minimums. Which would be a big improvement for the refs. It would also undercut minimum salary athletes being able to sneer on the court they could buy and sell the team of refs. The nba has found generally games are better called if the oldest refs, who run least well, do the most running, and make the baseline calls. The obvious reason why is there is no slow motion replay usually for the refs to be able to make the call right. And when you have to watch feet, hands, maybe 9 or 10 feet apart on the same person, in five different match ups, it is painfully easy to be a dollar short and a day late. And no when says afterward, yes sir, if they think its wrong, though some say good call if they think it is right. The only way to appreciate the veteran refs is to compare them to the best replacement refs. The best free throw shooters ever missed 10% of the unguarded 15 foot shots, though they could take their time, get in rhythm, and then shoot. All the refs mess up, probably more than 10% of the calls, but replacements have an even harder time getting up to speed. Shaq has a back up band. Any high school marching band kid can play a few songs well enough to vaguely recognize the tune, but how many do you think could just step in and play well enough for Shaq to hire them, and keep them? That is why Shaq is kissing up to the refs, whom he has routinely bashed after games. He has had to make choices about who stays and goes in his band. Isn`t easy, gets very personal, as refering does. But even the best aren`t perfect and any less than the best and events like the basketbrawl in Detroit might become commonplace.
Yes, Ed, I'm sure the job of being an illiterate clown is much more difficult.
Now put on your big red nose and floppy shoes and go of to work...
Ed your comments illustrate just how ignorant you are when it comes to basketball and especially refereeing. Referee's have a very special role in the game of basketball. Having Mr. Stern try to compare them to the NBA Administrative staff I think is more of a negotiating tactics. In these economic times everyone has to tighten their belts but Mr. Stern is being unrealistic. Mr. Stern go back to the negotiating table put a reasonable offer on the table and let’s get on to talking about basketball instead this crap!
This is such a well articulated letter. It really does hammer home the point about what the nba is doing to the referees. The one thing missing from this is home much money do these referees actually make? If they make 250, 000$ plus a year (typical of top level people in many professions) then maybe the nba does have a case to lower salaries, however if the refs make something like 100k a year well being on the road for 10 months then the nba should shut up, leave there benefits intact and tell then billionaire owners to cough over 100k each a year to cover the costs.
Referees' salary starts at $150,000, and the top level refs make around $550,000.
My understanding is that they have reached an agreement as to salary and the principal issue remaining is the retirement pension. If so, much of what is stated in the letter is somewhat misleading, as presumably the salary takes into account the difficulties of the job. I don't know if the information is public, but before determining who is in the right, it would be helpful to know what the proposals are from the two sides.
I certainly agree with nba wife,,alot of sacrifices r made to do a job he loves,,how far the pay scale should reach is maybe the huge salaries players make they can pool together 5% of that and put towards the ref's,,also the revenue from tv is huge,,even in this tough economic times any player playing any sport for 15 mill a yr is ridiculous,,but the refs,,umps and all those guys cant even begin to think how much money that is,,,Mr, Stern,,,pay them their fair share,,u cant compare them to anyone else but their own..players can afford to fly family to their xmas game to spend a coupla days,,,I doubt even the highest paid ref would have such a luxury,,,smarten up stern,,by the way,,what u r pulling in,,10-15 mill yourself?
Adding to my previous comment. Good letter, Mrs. Davis. If you know of a way Stern can be "impeached" or removed, please let me know. Thank you and good luck refs!
No offense but NBA refs do not make 550,000 dollars a year, that amount would be rather ridiculous. But doing a search, it looks to be about 90,000 to 225,000 dollars a year. Not sure about pensions, and travel costs/expenses that get paid.
That was a great piece of writing ... eloquent and heart-felt. David Stern will find it difficult to get allies for this shoddy treatment of the refs. Remember the quality of reffing the last time substitute refs were used? Absolutely laughable! By the way, David, how much do you pull in each year and what are your perks and benefits? Does anybody know how much this man makes for the cushiest job in sports?
Don't know how much Stern makes, but like I keep saying, he needs to be Removed!!!
We are all hit in these tough times rather it's 10% pay reduction 2 week furlogh... no pension.
She makes the points very well. Replacements were a disaster in 1995 and will be again this season. Fights will be numerous as the replacements struggle to control games. Inability to make good consistent calls will drive players bonkers.
The owners and their lacky Stern have not been able to control their spending of mega millions on players with the ridiculous soft cap so they look to save pennies on the ref's deal. The amount involved with the refs is nothing in the scheme of the NBA. The big question is since the economy is so bad is Stern taking a cut? NOT LIKELY
Heres a solution. If the nba really cares about keeping the quality of referring and cutting cost. It will take a couple of years to implicate but I am sure it will work and refs will have a more normal home life. There are 30 or so teams, some are in the same city or close proximity. Train enough refs who live in those cities or areas. Let them work the games in those places only and cut cost on travel per diem and many other ways and the refs can be at home at nite and tuck there kids into bed and let their wives get sick of seeing them so much in about a week! Case closed!