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The newly ratified seven-year CBA agreement is more than just player salaries and a huge pot for the revenue split. It's also about giving players an opportunity to have their claims heard.
This new CBA that starts off next season will allow players to call a hotline and complain about the officiating:
Article Continues Below“Players will be able to critique the work of game referees, as never before. In the past, they were allowed to submit one report annually — but never were allowed to mention the offending refs by name. That was the way Stern wanted it handled, and it wasn’t subject to collective bargaining; the players had to accept the commissioner’s edict, and they never felt like they had any clout in this area. Starting with the new CBA, however, the reports will be submitted with the names of the refs and with greater frequency, coming once a month.”
“Additionally, the players for the first time will have a hotline to call in to critique the work of refs in their games. They’ll be able to report not just on where they think the official botched a call, but also if they found a ref to be out of line, verbally, with how they handled blow-ups. Basically, they can complain like never before. The hotline is a response to the league allowing the new monthly reviews so that players can report something they thought was handled incorrectly while it’s still fresh in their minds.”
A move spearheaded by commissioner Adam Silver, this complaint hotline can be a way to keep referees accountable for their actions and make the game fair from both sides of the spectrum.
In theory, this would allow “beefs” with certain players to end. The league would keep a tally of how many offenses of technical fouls a referee has had with a player, and how many times a player has mouthed off to an official.
The NBA would act as a mediator between players and officials and would review these issues in order to provide transparency not only for the fans, but for players and coaches alike.
