Latest news with #RefMasters
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Are NBA referees given enough credit?
Refereeing in the NBA is a tough, often thankless job. Every night, tens of thousands of fans pack arenas to watch their favorite teams and players go head-to-head. But what often goes unnoticed is the crucial role the men and women in black and white play in the game. Just like players go onto the court with a host of different play calls in their heads, referees step onto the hardwood having to ensure they're well-versed with the 75-page rule book that governs competition — that is before we get into the distance they cover getting up and down the floor to keep up with play. Advertisement On the latest episode of The Athletic NBA Daily, Dave DuFour and Zena Keita were joined by The Athletic's Shakeia Taylor following her recent deep dive into the NBA's referee crisis. Shakeia elaborated on the problems with the league's rulebook, and how RefMasters – an app launched by league officials James Williams and Kane Fitzgerald – is helping to educate up-and-coming referees. Dave and Zena also discussed the Golden State Warriors (40-29) getting back to winning ways without Steph Curry in the lineup, after their 104-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks (38-30) as Jimmy Butler led them with 24 points. They also examined the Cleveland Cavaliers (56-12) dropping their second straight game after a 132-119 loss to the L.A. Clippers (39-30), with Kawhi Leonard tying his season-high of 33 points. Watch the full episode of 'NBA Daily' below or on the YouTube channel, or via the 'NBA Daily' podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. (Top Photo: Jim Poorten / NBAE via Getty Images)
New York Times
17-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Company led by NBA refs hopes to improve basketball officiating, expand pool of referees
The NBA's 75 officials have to quickly trust their eyes, ears and feet while being the final arbiters of a 75-page rule book, and they have milliseconds to decide whether a player has violated a rule. A shot released with the flick of a wrist can be altered with a tap … and whether that tap is called can alter a play, a game or even a season. Advertisement Officiating a game as free flowing as basketball, no matter the level, isn't easy. Humans do the job, and they make mistakes. But when it's an NBA game with thousands of people in the stands and thousands more watching on television or League Pass, the scrutiny of any mistake — thanks to frame-by-frame 4K replay and the proliferation of bettors hoping their parlays hit — is as intense as it's ever been for officials. James Williams knows this as well as anyone. That's why he and fellow referee Kane Fitzgerald came up with the idea for RefMasters, a social and educational app with rules-based training for sports officials, during the 2020 bubble season. With the app, users have access to study film sessions and training camps, earn certifications and expand their professional networking opportunities. RefMasters also looks to create data points for interactive training to determine whether a specific position is dependable for an official in the role he or she has on the court, rating it against a large data set of other games where officials have assumed that position or similar positions to predict whether that official is going to be in good position to make accurate calls. Now in his 15th season, Williams has officiated more than 800 regular-season games and playoff games, including five NBA Finals games and two NBA All-Star Games. Most basketball officials' careers start humbly. Williams' career did as well as he began officiating intramural games as a Purdue University student. 'There's no referee school, per se,'' he said. For Williams, being a referee isn't only his vocation; it's also his obsession. He spent more than 45 minutes talking about everything from his experiences to why this new venture into training new and upcoming officials was important. 'RefMasters came into existence because we're passionate about refereeing — and we really love it,' Williams said, 'We had so many people help us along our journeys that this is just another way to give back. 'I don't care what profession you're in, whether you're a dentist, a lawyer, a writer, a poet, people had to help you, teach you the craft. But more importantly, we thought that with the advancements in technology that officiating was kind of behind in that regard.' Williams and RefMasters want to help officials catch up to modern technology. With just about everything one can imagine being available on smartphones and to provide users with access to some of the best officials at the professional level in basketball, football and baseball, RefMasters released the beta version of their app in the fall of 2022. Their programs include RuleIQ, which teaches rules and decision-making; RefExec, a speaker series featuring established officials; and RefMasters University, web sessions held monthly where attendees can interact and engage with professional referees. Advertisement The app is available in more than 35 countries and is free to anyone to use, but RefMasters University is a premium product with a fee of $30 per month or $300 for the annual plan. Currently, there are more than 12 active NBA, NFL and MLB officials and more than 25 Division 1 NCAA officials on the app who engage with users. In addition to its current curriculum, RefMasters is working to add a virtual reality component to the app. The feature, which would be used via mask and mobile device accessible without a mask, would allow participants to simulate the live game environment and apply their training and education. 'With VR, you're basically in the game without actually being on the floor, and you're having to make decisions,' Williams said. 'We find that it also helps to accelerate one's growth when they can kind of be in this simulator, just like pilots, so that when they are presented with those things in real flight, they have this foundation that helps them. 'We're hoping down the road to get into the AR/VR aspect of this to help umpires and officials get more game-like training, so that they could be a little bit more prepared when they take the floor.' Williams and his team believe there is an opportunity for referees to use technology to teach current, upcoming and aspiring officials across sports how to learn and apply the rules to grow the ranks, humanize officials and elevate the skills of sports officials at every level. Officials work their way through the ranks for years, often starting at the high school level and advancing by attending camps for promotions. But the work to memorize rule books and master proper positioning is often learned through trial and error and with the help of a mentor. 'There is a tremendous shortage around the country for sports officials, and there's a number of reasons why, but mainly the pay is low (at levels below the professional leagues) and the sportsmanship is not very good,' Williams said. 'People feel threatened for their safety. Advertisement 'No one knows about sports officials; no one even knows how to get involved, how to get started. And that hurts not just the high school games today, but it hurts the NBA tomorrow.' In addition to making officiating accessible to anyone who wants to learn, RefMasters hopes to have an impact on the dwindling numbers of officials as well as diversity within the profession. 'As your staff gets older and retires, you have a smaller pool to draw from,' Williams said. 'If not many people are signing up, that means you have less people making it up the ranks, which means you have less people to choose from to try to get to the highest level. 'So while we think this is just a problem for high school associations, it absolutely has an impact on the NHL, the NFL, the NBA, MLS and all these other major sports.' According to a 2023 National Association of Sports Officials survey of 35,813 sports officials across the United States and around the world, the officiating industry is aging. The average age of those surveyed was 56.68 years, up from 53.29 years in 2017. There are 75 full-time NBA officials including 66 men, eight women and one non-binary referee. Violet Palmer and Dee Kanter, who became the NBA's first women officials in 1997, no longer officiate in the NBA. 'We're trying to bridge the gap between need and experience,' said Shawn Price, RefMasters executive vice president. 'One thing that we always say: A lot of these athletes these days are leveraging technology. They are learning at an early age. They are being well trained at an early age, and it's not necessarily happening on the sports official side. 'We want our sports officials across the board, in all sports, to be as trained and educated as these athletes. We want to match their skill sets and reach them where they are. Elite athletes need elite officiating, and that's exactly where RefMasters comes in.' Advertisement Chevon Keith, a former Western Carolina University basketball player turned NCAA basketball official, joined RefMasters in October 2024. Seeing Williams, an NBA official she recognized, convinced her to check out the app. 'It's really dope for them to be on an app with us, because they don't have to be,' Keith said. 'I started going through all of the things. I still haven't even looked at everything on the app. But it is really beneficial, because it's stuff I can work on. I have a great mentor, (but) I want to learn some stuff on my own. Looking at how they break down plays, it changes how I look at film.' The breakdowns and explanations provided by RefMasters are simplified and consistent and have made her more aware of not only the calls she makes but also her positioning when making them. The film study sessions also have helped improve Keith's confidence on the court. 'James explained that there are weak spots in certain positions,' Keith said. 'That's not explained at the college level. In college, you know the mechanics, your primary position and you have a whistle. 'I've definitely improved because I pick up on stuff a little faster, process differently and do a better job of refereeing the defense.' As their officiating student numbers continue to grow, the team behind RefMasters is looking to use technology to bring data into the system to create more visibility of what happens during a game as well as potentially predicting what will happen and how to get in front of it. One of the challenges in an area like officiating is that there are many variables. 'A lot of times,' said Sony Tiwari, chief executive officer of RefMasters, 'when a call is hotly contested or goes to review, the thing that will be analyzed is whether the official was in good position or not. Most of the time, if a call is incorrect, or if there's a question about its correctness, it will have to do with whether they are standing in the right place and putting their eyes in the right place. RefMasters is interested in using the data they're collecting to identify what makes a good official. Advertisement 'How do we sift through all the noise and get to the signal? When we think about data, what do you measure with the referee, what percentage of calls as an official get right or wrong? That's really good, of course, but there's a lot more that an official brings to a game than making a right or wrong call.' As RefMasters expands its reach, as well as how they leverage technology to grow and improve officiating, the NBA has taken notice. 'We're very committed at the NBA to finding the best talent,' Monty McCutchen, senior vice president, head of development and training for referee operations at NBA said. 'Anytime you're in the talent-acquisition business the way the NBA is, whether that's coaching or refereeing or players, it's really important that you are open to a sense of what does talent look like. And if you put restrictions on what talent looks like, then one you're doing yourself a disservice. But at a greater human level, you're doing those that have talent a disservice.' McCutchen sees what Williams and RefMasters are doing as creating a community where diverse talent can be met where they are. 'I think RefMasters mirrors, in many ways, what we're committed to here at the NBA,' McCutchen said. 'It's not surprising that James would believe in those things being such an integral part of our staff in the NBA, but it is important that we understand that talent can be packaged in so many different ways. 'I think to cut that off and to not be able to see talent for how it presents itself would be an incredible disservice to a game that we all love. There's the human aspect of that — people who put the work in to cultivate, nurture and water their talent should be recognized in appropriate ways. And of course, those appropriate ways for all of us are advancement.' While it's impossible to be perfect when making calls in fast-paced, high-pressure situations, Williams and RefMasters hope that helping to make training for officials more consistent by embracing technology will positively impact the game by allowing referees to focus on areas of improvement. With that effort, combined with creating a pipeline for future officials to grow toward the professional level, RefMasters hopes to change the game. 'We want to be the Harvard of officiating,' Williams said. Sign up to get The Bounce, the essential NBA newsletter from Zach Harper and The Athletic staff, delivered free to your inbox. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Jason Miller / Claus Andersen / Nick Cammett)
