Tensions are high in the NBA these days. A rash of prominent players have been ejected this season, including LeBron James’ first career ejection. This has brought attention to the many conflicts between players and officials in the Association in 2017.
Questions about fouls, preferential treatment, and some rough play have caused a good number of on-court conflicts, ejections, and a lot of Getty images of angry players yelling or glaring at officials.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote about these conflicts and the result of them this year: A meeting at All-Star weekend where a group of players and officials will meet to try to deescalate tensions between players and refs. Michell Roberts, the NBPA’s executive director, spoke extensively about the incidents her players have had this season and the reasons why players are so upset in the first place.
One of the main causes of conflict seems to be that officials are told not to explain calls or speak to players, which is making them even angrier on the court. Here’s what Roberts said Lee Seham, the general counsel for the National Basketball Referees Association.
“There have been four or five occasions when a player has gone to say, ‘Hey, what’s up with that?’ and the official holds his hand up like a stop sign, like, ‘I don’t have time to talk to you.’ … Lee [Seham] told me, ‘That’s what they’re trained to do.’
“I think it’s a horrible idea. I hope someone over in [NBA] basketball operations will maybe reconsider that because it doesn’t serve to be a de-escalation of things; it really pisses guys off. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I hope they revisit the wisdom of it. I mentioned to players who specifically complained, and they weren’t happy to hear that it was a part of the training.”
There’s some debate about whether officials were taught to put up the stop sign or not, but it’s just one example of ways small tensions in a high-stakes environment can escalate quickly into something that directly impacts the game. And it seems like the NBA is trying to clean this up, too. No one wants big-name players out of games for long stretches, especially if it’s disrespecting the direct authority of the league.
