September 5, 2007
By HOWARD BECK

Over 27 years as an N.B.A. referee, Hue Hollins became inured to criticism and practically immune to name-calling. But the words he heard attached to his name a few days ago stung too much to let them pass.

Hollins was labeled a “disgruntled former official” whose competency eroded at the end of his career. The description came not from a bitter player or fan, but from Commissioner David Stern, who last week ripped Hollins and another former referee, Mike Mathis, for publicly criticizing the league’s officiating program.

“The N.B.A. was very good to me, and I was extremely good to them,” Hollins said yesterday in a telephone interview. “I’m not a disgruntled ex-employee. I worked 27 years in the N.B.A. I missed one game out of 27 years. If that’s not loyalty, I don’t know what is.”

The N.B.A.’s officiating program has come under intense scrutiny since the revelation in July that Tim Donaghy, a former N.B.A. referee, provided inside information to professional gamblers and bet on games. Donaghy pleaded guilty last month to two felony counts of conspiring with gamblers. He is awaiting sentencing.

No other referees are believed to be involved, although the N.B.A. could discipline some referees for legal gambling that violated league rules. Yet the Donaghy case has exposed a divide between the commissioner’s office and the referees it employs.

Hollins and Mathis, who are both retired, have said the league’s officiating system is broken, and have specifically blamed Ronnie Nunn, the director of officials, and Stu Jackson, the senior vice president for basketball operations. A number of current referees have also aired their discontent, but they have done so anonymously because the N.B.A. prohibits them from speaking with reporters.

Stern singled out Hollins and Mathis when he met with the news media last Thursday in Las Vegas, where he was attending the Olympic qualifying tournament.

“I guess all I’ll say is that Messers Mathis and Hollins at the end of their careers were not model referees, and it comes with ill grace for them to spend their time battering their former colleagues and the quality of them,” Stern said. “As a staff, the quality is a lot better than when Mr. Hollins and Mr. Mathis were roaming the floor, I might say, certainly toward the end of their perhaps otherwise-distinguished careers.”

The 65-year-old Hollins, who lives in Southern California, said he learned of Stern’s comments over the weekend.

In defending his record, Hollins noted that he officiated 19 finals games and five All-Star Games, assignments generally reserved for the N.B.A.’s best referees, and became a crew chief in his fifth season.

“Does that sound like a person who couldn’t referee?” he said.

According to Hollins, a great number of current referees are disillusioned with the program and want Jackson and Nunn fired.

“They’re doing that as we speak,” Hollins said.

In response to Hollins’s assertions N.B.A. spokesman Tim Frank said: “Hugh Hollins’s unhappiness with the N.B.A. predates Ronnie Nunn and Stu Jackson.”

Stern indicated last week that he stood by Nunn and Jackson. However, the league has launched a wholesale review of its officiating program, which could conceivably lead to changes in personnel. A former federal prosecutor, Lawrence B. Pedowitz, is in the process of interviewing all 60 referees, as well as team and league officials.

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by islesfan:

David Stern is a scumbag. If it's true what Stern says, that their competency eroded at the end of their careers, then why were they still allowed to officiate games? Why were they allowed to retire when they wanted to instead of being forced out on the basis of their shoddy officiating?

Stern is basically saying that either the NBA's monitoring program of officials is pathetic or they don't care that much about what their monitoring program says which allows subpar referees to continue to work games for them.

Stern has no integrity. His ego is getting too big for the job and he needs to go.

I seriously can't think of a worst commissioner in sports. Just awful from Head-to-Toe!

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by martin:

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by islesfan:

David Stern is a scumbag. If it's true what Stern says, that their competency eroded at the end of their careers, then why were they still allowed to officiate games? Why were they allowed to retire when they wanted to instead of being forced out on the basis of their shoddy officiating?

Stern is basically saying that either the NBA's monitoring program of officials is pathetic or they don't care that much about what their monitoring program says which allows subpar referees to continue to work games for them.

Stern has no integrity. His ego is getting too big for the job and he needs to go.

I seriously can't think of a worst commissioner in sports. Just awful from Head-to-Toe!

dude, you keep saying the same thing without really providing any backup, or maybe I missed it.

Sterns job is to keep the owners rolling in money; Check. Increase viewership; Check, up until very recently.

What am I missing?

Increase the popularity of the league so that bench players like Jerome James can make millions. Check.

Posted by Bippity10:

And yet we still watch

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by martin:

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by islesfan:

David Stern is a scumbag. If it's true what Stern says, that their competency eroded at the end of their careers, then why were they still allowed to officiate games? Why were they allowed to retire when they wanted to instead of being forced out on the basis of their shoddy officiating?

Stern is basically saying that either the NBA's monitoring program of officials is pathetic or they don't care that much about what their monitoring program says which allows subpar referees to continue to work games for them.

Stern has no integrity. His ego is getting too big for the job and he needs to go.

I seriously can't think of a worst commissioner in sports. Just awful from Head-to-Toe!

dude, you keep saying the same thing without really providing any backup, or maybe I missed it.

Sterns job is to keep the owners rolling in money; Check. Increase viewership; Check, up until very recently.

What am I missing?

Hasn't viewership been going downhill for a few years now? Resulting in the lowest rated Finals since the drug days of the NBA?

I don't think NBA teams aren't doing well financially but I don't think it's doing nearly as well as it has been. And Stern and HIS referees ruining the integrity of the game isn't helping. The NBA isn't nearly as popular as it used to be and it's not getting any better.

Posted by islesfan:

TV is much more of an indicator than ticket sales. Just pure numbers.

LeBron is supposed to be a HUGE draw for the NBA and the Finals numbers were still down. NYK being in the Finals in 94 and 99 didn't lead to bigger ratings, in fact the ratings of those Finals were very weak.

There's no question that Stern cares about his owners a millions times more than he cares about NBA fans. That's just part of the problem that is causing them to lose the casual fans that they desperately need. I wouldn't categorize anybody who posts often on this board to be a casual fan, so to single anybody out, like some did about TrueBlue, wouldn't be fair. We'd all be watching and talking about the NBA even if they had such terrible ratings as the NHL.