NBA announces initiative to address issues between players, referees

The NBA announced a new initiative Friday aimed at mending the relationship between players and referees.

Lead by the league's Head of Referee Operations Michelle Johnson and Head of Referee Development and Training Monty McCutchen, the "five-pronged" approach seeks to alleviate some of the tension between players, coaches, and referees after an often-contentious start to the season.

In the league's own words, the five components of the initiative are:

1. Johnson, McCutchen, and their staffs will conduct meetings with all 30 teams to discuss rules interpretations, on-court conduct, and the expectations of NBA referees. These meetings will begin before the NBA All-Star break.
2. The league will re-emphasize its “Respect for the Game” rules with referees, coaches, and players to ensure consistent enforcement of those violations.
3. The NBA Referee Operations department will expand its overall rules education initiative for coaches, players, and team personnel to ensure clarity of the game’s rules and their proper interpretations.
4. Johnson and McCutchen will conduct enhanced training for the referees on conflict resolution. In addition, they will more closely monitor the on-court interactions of coaches, players, and referees to ensure referee decorum meets league standards.
5. Through the NBA’s Officiating Advisory Council, the league will create opportunities for engagement with all key stakeholders to find common ground between all parties.

Players have grown increasingly critical of game officials in recent months, particularly as the number of both high-profile ejections and missed late-game calls have seemed to increase.

In addition to the NBA's new initiative, three players and three referees are set to meet during All-Star weekend, possibly with the help of a third-party mediator, in hopes of finding some mutual understanding between the groups whose line of work is inextricably linked.