Not sure which one, and what for, but an NBA ref was suspended. Tonight, all the NBA refs are officiating under protest by wearing their jerseys inside out and all wearing #62. How ridiculous. If a player came onto the court wearing their jersey inside out, or wearing a diff # to protest the suspension of a teamate, they would be thrown out of the game.
1. I cant believe the NBA is allowing it either, but.... 2. In his defense, the ref was being suspended for a blown call- an inadvertant whistle. 3 games for a blown call? Refs blow calls all the time. However, after the Sac-Lakers playoff series 2 years ago and the Timberwolves-Lakers series last year, the NBA is hypersensitive to anything that would appear to favor the Lakers. I guarantee the Lakers won't get the benfit of the doubt in the playoffs anymore after this incident.
it was for the missed call in the lakers game. The man was flat out wrong and it cost a team a win. He should be suspended. The refs are protesting because they have never been suspended before. To me, this is a slap in the face of their employer. If my employees did this, there would be reprecussions. rocket river
I don't understand why they didn't just award the ball to the Nuggets after the "huddle" instead of making them jump ball. Lemme guess, O' Neal won the tip for the Lakers.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1746204 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. Refs Scott Foster (l) and Mike Callahan wear the number 62 during the Rockets-Blazers game. 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." Referees Eddie F. Rush and Nolan Fine worked the Grizzlies-Bucks game and did not take part in the protest, although Rodney Mott, the third referee in their crew, wore his shirt inside out with No. 62 magic-markered on the back. Henderson's salary will not be affected by the suspension, an NBA official told ESPN. The referees are currently in the final season of their five-year collective bargaining agreement with the NBA. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
This is crazy! The ref blew the call; they have been, for the most part, terrible this year. Suspension? Well, he probably got in an argument with an NBA official; I'll agree with the ruling. Three games? Harsh. Now for the other refs wearing #62, that's just plain DISRESPECTFUL in EVERY sense. When i saw them 'protesting' without hearing the story, my immediate thought was: Completely disrespectful (okay, so my initial thought was WTF?!?). If I was working for a company (I guess a new employer) and my fellow workers formed a union and went on strike for something that had nothing to do with them, would I protest? Personally no, not when the pay is so damn sweet. For the refs to do such a public demonstration is ridiculous; there are other ways of doing it instead of sinking down to the NBA's level. Smart move by the refs by acting a fool in front of the harshest critics: the players and the fans. Just plain stupid; now I can't wait for these refs to completely lose their jobs this summer ala MLB umpires of 1999.
Completely untrue. Referees are suspended all the time, even during the playoffs. You just never hear about it. For some reason, the NBA decided to go against policy and make the suspension public, while mentioning the referees name. The change in policy is what the referees are protesting.
wonder if we should all wear our monikers backwards and some sort of studogg tribute after the suspension
I went over Lakers' message board. Guess what? Lakers fans are going bananas to defend the ref for those two calls!
Interesting . . . .to say the least Rocket River . . . . .. .WHAT DID THE FIVE FINGERS SAY TO THE FACE . . . . . *SMACK* . . . . RICK JAMES, B*TCH
Lakers fans are also the people that are sending death threats to the DA in Eagle, CO while still calling citizens of Colorado classless for booing Kobe. Lakers fans are pieces of ****. I didn't think it was possible, but they've joined the Jazz and the Suns in the holy trinity of dumbasses.
