Nba, Referees Reunited By Slimmest Of Margins, 27-26, Refs Vote To Accept League Offer

Let the real NBA season with real NBA referees begin.

Rejecting the recommendation of their union leadership, the locked-out referees Monday night voted by the slimmest of margins - 27-26 - to accept the NBA’s five-year contract offer.

Regular referees should be back on the job next Monday, after going through a league-imposed training camp to make sure they’re in shape to work games.

“We’re pleased that the referees have voted to accept our proposal,” said league executive vice president Jeffrey Mishkin. “If we can reach a signed agreement in the next few days, then the referees would be back on the court within a week.”

The two referees who did not attend the 5-hour meeting in a Chicago suburb were Jake O’Donnell and Jack Madden. According to union leader Fred Slaughter, the key factor in approving the deal was lost wages.

“What I heard, for the most part, was a lot of talk about individual economics,” he said.

According to the league, the deal would make NBA referees the highest paid in all sports starting next season. This season, they would make as much as baseball umpires. In the deal, first-year referees would make $85,000, compared with $76,000 last season. Veterans would make $261,000, compared with $217,000 last season.

However, many referees who voted against the deal still believe those salaries are inflated because they include playoff shares, and because the league is the sole determiner of who works the playoffs, the money is not all guaranteed. The league insists all money is guaranteed and puts the referees at the top of the profession.