With the NBA season set to begin tonight, chances are good that replacement referees will be officiating. The league locked out the referees on Oct. 1, and spokesmen on both sides admit that they are far apart in their negotiations. League official must recognize that to ensure the quality of basketball fans want to see, they must seriously look at the demands of current officials instead of simply looking to hire replacements.
Will the sports world ever learn that replacement anything won't sell? No one wants to see Shaquille O'Neal foul out in the second quarter because of shoddy calls, nor do fans want to see a melee break out because the refs can't keep the players under control.
The referees are asking for a pay raise of 26 percent, to bring their salaries in line with those of Major League baseball umpires and National Hockey League officials. The league has countered with an offer of a 6.4 percent pay raise.
Replacement officials have been working preseason games in two man crews, as opposed to the standard three-man crews of NBA officials.
With the difficulties of calls and the numerous decisions the officiating team must make during the course of an NBA game, two referees is simply not enough.
Also, only the best of the best college refs make it into the NBA, and even these refs are at times inconsistent with a crew of three officials. For the League to expect two replacement refs to do the job of three veteran, top-notch officials is absurd.
History has proven that replacement officials simply don't have the experience that is necessary to call professional sports. They lack the necessary skill and composure to make consistent good calls.
Take for example the baseball umpire strike this past season. One cannot help but recall the inconsistent strike zones of replacement umpires. Baseball officials took immediate notice to the inadequacy, and the locked out umpires benefited.
The basketball referee is faced with making calls that are much more complex than those by baseball umpires, due to the nature of the game. It is thus inevitable that the problems baseball faced will be far greater for basketball come Friday.
NBA refs complain about the lack of respect they get from the players, but just imagine how players will react to even worse calls by refs who couldn't make it to the pros without first taking away someone's livelihood.
In a time when other sports are blowing their chances with fans, the NBA cannot afford a messy battle.
It appears to have been unscathed by the off season attempts of veterans to decertify the players union, but if the league can't get real refs back onto the courts, both the integrity of the game and the safety of the players will be put at risk.
