After weeks of bargaining between the NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association, the league officially locked out its referees on Friday.

The existing agreement expired on September 1, and the heavier negotiations commenced at that point.  The disconnects between the two sides centered around severance, referee development and pension plans.  In a nutshell – in each of those areas, the league presented the Referees Association with proposals that were considerably less generous than what they already have.

How will superstars like Kobe Bryant fare with replacement refs?

So today, the NBA formally announced that it will begin training camp next week with replacement refs.  The camp was scheduled to begin with the league’s original referees on Sunday.  But now that the replacement refs have to be called on, the training camp will begin sometime next week.

The thing that interests me most about replacement refs in the NBA is how they will handle the league biggest attraction – its star power.  More than any other league, the NBA is dependent upon its superstars to bring in revenue through ticket sales, merchandise sales and cable / satellite packages.

Now throw in a group of replacement referees.  Referees who aren’t familiar with the preset nuances of each player.  Referees who won’t know that certain players are supposed to get certain calls.  Referees who won’t have the respect of the players…or the fans…or the media.

According to Rick Buchanan, NBA executive vie president and general counsel:

“It is extremely disappointing that the NBRA has ignored the economic realities, rejected our offer, and left us with no choice but to begin using replacement referees.”

With that statement, the NBA has put its foot down.  Let’s just hope it’s not in quicksand.

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