NBA Suspends LA/Nuggets Referee

[Drbio]

NEW YORK -- The NBA acknowledged Thursday there was an officiating mistake in the final minute of the Los Angeles Lakers' 112-111 victory over the host Denver Nuggets and suspended the official.

With the Nuggets leading Wednesday night's game 111-109, a shot by Denver's Andre Miller appeared to brush the rim and barely beat the shot clock. Teammate Carmelo Anthony got the rebound, but the whistle blew for a shot-clock violation. The officials huddled and ruled it was an inadvertent whistle, resulting in a jump ball.

The Lakers won the tip, leading to Kareem Rush's winning 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left.

But NBA senior VP Stu Jackson said Thursday that there shouldn't have been a whistle on the play.

"That call was incorrect because the ball, in fact, hit the rim," Jackson said. "This was an unfortunate call at a highly critical point in the game, and we very much regret the error."

The National Basketball Referees Association said the league suspended referee Michael Henderson for three games and summoned him to New York for a meeting with league officials.

The group said the referee had followed NBA guidelines in making his call, but made a mistake.

"Yet rather than a traditional fine, the NBA is out-of-bounds in its actions," said Lamell McMorris of the NBRA.

Speaking before the Lakers faced the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night, coach Phil Jackson maintained that Miller's shot didn't hit the rim and Anthony fouled Kobe Bryant as he got the rebound.

"You just see the ball disappear below the rim," Jackson said. "I've never heard of a decision like that rendered by the league office."

The Lakers coach said Michael Henderson got the call right when he ruled Miller's shot missed the rim, but was overruled by Jack Nies and Jess Kersey, the more experienced officials.

[kg_veteran]

Good move by the league. Completely arbitrary, of course, but a good move. They should start suspending officials left and right if they screw up such a blatantly obvious play.

Honestly, the whole crew should have been punished. When you call it a shot-clock violation, either it is or it isn't. If it is, the ball goes to the Lakers. If it isn't, the ball goes to the Nuggets. That whole jump-ball thing was not even correct under the rules.

As for Phil Jackson, he makes me laugh. I'm POSITIVE he's seen the tape of that play, and it's completely obvious that the ball hits the rim. It'd be one thing for him to say "refs are human" or somesuch, but to continue to deny they got it wrong makes me wonder whether he needs to have his prescription checked.

[Drbio]

Phil Jackson rides the short bus. He deserves little credit for riding the coattails of great players.

[MavKikiNYC]

Clearly someone in the league office is reading this site and taking my suggestions seriously.



MavKikiNYC
Elite Member

Posts: 5391
Joined: Feb 2002
Monday February 09, 2004 1:59 PM


Dirno, thanks for the Vescey column--interesting stuff. Do you have a link to it?

I think the NBA could save itself some grief if they'd try a little harder to publicize their reform efforts with recalcitrant refs like Joey "Sticks in My" Craw-ford.

-------------------------

NELLIE MUST GO!™

And furthermore...

Kiki says....

[MavKikiNYC]

Associated Press
In an act of protest, NBA referees turned their jerseys inside-out Friday night and wore No. 62 -- the number assigned to a disciplined colleague.


Referee Michael Henderson's bad call at the end of Wednesday night's Lakers-Nuggets game was publicly acknowledged Thursday by the NBA.


Henderson was taken off three job assignments and summoned to the league office, the referees' association said.


"An unprecedented job action was taken against one of their colleagues, so an unprecedented response was necessary," said Larnell McMorris, a spokesman and negotiator for the National Basketball Referees Association.


Referees at all 10 NBA games Friday night were expected to wear Henderson's number, McMorris said.


The NBA released a statement from deputy commissioner Russ Granik saying any referees taking part in the protest "will be subject to appropriate discipline."


Henderson, in his second season as an NBA official, mistakenly whistled a shot clock violation after an attempt by Denver's Andre Miller brushed the rim and was rebounded by a teammate.


The officials huddled and ruled it an inadvertent whistle, resulting in a jump ball. The Lakers won the tip and made the game-winning shot with 3.2 seconds left.


"This was an unfortunate call at a highly critical point in the game, and we very much regret the error," NBA vice president Stu Jackson said his statement Thursday. He was not immediately available for comment Friday night.


McMorris said Henderson's three-game punishment was unprecedented.


"It's inconsistent with the performance evaluation standards that the league introduced to initiate communication between supervisors and referees," McMorris said. "This has never occurred for a bad call."


The referees are currently in the final season of their five-year collective bargaining agreement with the NBA.

[MavKikiNYC]

This type of defiance can't be tolerated.

If coaches and players get fined for criticizing officials, then officials get fined for criticizing league officials for disciplining them.

Punishment: Fine one game's salary; notation in their permanent record; make them wear unflattering double-knit polyester uniforms ....(wait, they already DO that)....no post-game strippers.

Whiny SOBs. Refusing to acknowledge that more accountability will garner them more respect. No one wants any responsibility.

[Dirkenstien]

The refs did what they could in that particular situation. A human being will make mistakes. To suspend a referee for making a mistake in a crucial moment of a game while in the heat ofthe moment is absurdly rediculous. The referees are not to blame but the league is for not having specific ways of preparing them of these situations. What else could the refs had done? The whistle was already mistakenly and inadvertently blown and from there they handled matters appropriately.

[Dirkenstien]

I agree that the referees should handle the current situation in a much better manner than the one in which they have portrayed tonight, although I understand their reasoning. Those who have participated in the revolt should be handled with appropriately though the league should also take the point they are making into consideration.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by: Dirkenstien
The refs did what they could in that particular situation. A human being will make mistakes.

I agree. But if you don't punish someone for making a mistake then there is no incentive to STOP making mistakes.

[harsh euro barge]

Originally posted by: Max Power

I agree. But if you don't punish someone for making a mistake then there is no incentive to STOP making mistakes.

3 Games is pretty steep though...

[Max Power]

Originally posted by: harsh euro barge

3 Games is pretty steep though...

I'm sure the Denver front office doesn't think so - especially if it turns out that they miss the playoffs by a game.

[mary]

Mr. Stern's unhappy!

In response to NBA officials' actions Feb. 27
David Stern Statement

NEW YORK, Feb. 28 -- The following statement was issued by NBA Commissioner David Stern in response to NBA officials' actions last night:

"Last night's display was woefully inconsistent with the professionalism with which NBA officials normally conduct themselves. There is nothing more to say at this time."

I thought it was a fairly benign protest.

[mavsfanforever]

Originally posted by: harsh euro barge

3 Games is pretty steep though...

On the contrary, Lucky for them they did not get fired.

[superheadcat]

if the league wants to clean up the ref system, it has to figure out how to deal with a key question in "incorrect no-call" situation: which ref on the court is responsible.

i don't have a good intuition how to solve this problem. but i can well envisioin how the games would be impacted if this is not solved:
refs would be hesitant to blow whistle, especially at crucial time;
and thus players would play dirtier and nastier (or for those who like that kind of d, more "physical", and more "agressive");
and thus the games will be dirtier and nastier.

btw, what implications that would have for mavs?

[Nash13]

The refs did what they could in that particular situation. A human being will make mistakes

I don't mean to pick on you or anything Stien, but that exuse is getting old when it comes to the refs. Someone, i think KGvet said it best a while ago, we need to start keeping the same expection of refs as we do Chefs and Pilots.

That proves that the ref at that time just lost focus, and that's something you can't do in a close game with 30 seconds left in the game. I believe he even looked at it on the instant replay monitor, and still got it wrong.

[MavKikiNYC]

From DMN:

Officially speaking: The referees Saturday wore their proper uniforms and the game went off without incident.

The refs at a Friday game wore their jerseys inside out with No. 62 – the number for suspended ref Michael Henderson – written on the back.

On Saturday, Don Nelson and owner Mark Cuban spoke out in support of the refs.

"Referees, like any human beings, should be given the benefit of the doubt," Nelson said. "We're all going to make mistakes. We don't suspend players for making mistakes. If we did, we'd have nobody on our roster."

Cuban, who has ranted publicly about referees, said he could sympathize with their situation. The referees are in the process of negotiating a new contract with the league, and the suspension of Henderson could become a hot-button issue in the negotiations.

"I think it's great that the league is taking quality officiating so seriously," he said. "I honestly don't think a three-game suspension was warranted, but that's just my opinion. There were lots of opportunities to rectify the issue.

"But hopefully this is a step. Anything that promotes accountability and transparency is good. Without transparency, you don't know about the accountability."

[TheBaron]

Cuban, who has ranted publicly about referees, said he could sympathize with their situation.

looks like Cuban wants to get a few more blown calls go his way.

[MightyToine]

Originally posted by: TheBaron

looks like Cuban wants to get a few more blown calls go his way.

Cuban....The Master Manipulator. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]