Q&A: NBA Replacement Referees

It’s a classic tale, really. Enemies become friends. Protagonists find the grass isn’t really greener on the other side. In the case of the NBA referee lockout, protagonists who are the stars of the league are about to have some first-hand experience with lessons from Aesop’s Fables. The happy ending is, at least according to the NBA: things will be better this time. Better than the 1995 referee lockout, that is. Perhaps the most famous line from the 1995 referee lockout was by Washington Bullets center Chris Webber who summed up the fiasco in five words: “The real refs are back? Hallelujah.” Webber echoed the sentiments of many NBA players who were angry over the quality of refereeing. We take a look at why the ’95 lockout caused uproar and why the NBA says it will be different. -What was so bad about ’95? It wasn’t exactly anarchy, but according to some players, it was close. Instead of three-man crews, the NBA used two-man, meaning each referee had much more ground to cover. T...