The relationship between NBA officials and players have reached an all-time low this season. Multiple suspensions, ejections, and technical fouls this year have been majorly linked to the abrasive relationship between the referees and players.
In the referee’s perspective, players have become increasingly disrespectful, shouting obscenities and cursing out officials. However, many players believe that officials are disrespecting them by throwing up their hands at them when they ask for explanations on certain calls, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Referees and players also discussed techniques for dealing with each other within games. For example, one of the actions discussed was referees giving the so-called “stop hand” to players during disagreements. While this is taught to referees as a way to diffuse a situation, it has been taken as offensive by players who want to have more of an open back-and-forth. Overall, the sides would like more open discussion of various hand signals and techniques.
The NBA players and officials associations both met during the All-Star weekend to discuss actions that would strengthen the relationship between the two parties. Obviously, this dialogue is important because players and referees have to get along if games are going to progress smoothly.
Though, there is work to be done on both sides. For players, they have to approach referees cordially to get the response they want. For referees, they have to foster an amicable attitude with players and treat them like adults. Big steps were made in their meeting on Sunday, but more work has to be made to make any progress.
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