http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2007-08-31-stern-officiating-review_N.htm

"Many people have been happy to condemn them on the basis of either disgruntled former officials or press reports about what Mr. Donaghy is alleged to have said, and that's not fair."

The former referees the commissioner spoke of were Mike Mathis and Hue Hollins, who have been critical in some recent newspaper stories of the current state of the profession under director of officials Ronnie Nunn. NBA officials are generally prohibited from speaking to the media.

"I think that their statements about current referees, which they're happy to take shots at, are kind of interesting," Stern said. "And I guess that's all I'll say, is that Messrs. Mathis and Hollins at the end of their careers were not model referees.

"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, so I'm very protective of our existing officials and their staff and their development, and I doubt very much that our existing staff would do to their younger colleagues what Mathis and Hollins now find to be open. So when you talk about officials you should make the point that those are disgruntled former officials."

Spiders in the box..
And cheff spider is talking.
Who cares anyway?