Lockout of N.B.A. Referees 'Unavoidable,' Negotiator Says

NBA+Finals+Game+3+Boston+Celtics+v+Los+Angeles+cAyEHZ0SrfKl Let’s take a step back from the team and look at the league as a whole. This could become a major issue.

New York Times: The lead negotiator for N.B.A. referees declared that a lockout was “imminent and unavoidable” after the latest round of contract talks broke off Thursday afternoon. The league could be using replacement referees for the first time since 1995.

Negotiations have dragged all summer and appeared to be dead last week after an in-person meeting ended acrimoniously. They took another hit Wednesday when the N.B.A.’s 57 referees unanimously rejected the league’s latest offer at a union meeting in Chicago.

According to Lamell McMorris, the referees’ chief negotiator, the referees on Thursday delivered a counter-proposal that included another $1 million in concessions. The league rejected it.

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