National Basketball Referees Association Calls for End of Last-2-Minute Reports
In a statement posted Tuesday, the National Basketball Referees Association asked the NBA to stop the practice of releasing last-two-minute reports.
The last two-minute report is a summary of all calls and non-calls made during the final two minutes of games in which two teams are separated by five points or fewer.
"The NBRA believes the league's actions to promote so-called transparency will cause more harm than good for the officials and the game," the NBRA wrote in its statement. "We call for an end to L2M reporting and other transparency measures and a return to private, league-managed evaluations, reviews, education, training, and discipline for NBA officials."
The NBA released a response to the request, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
The last-two-minute reports have gained increased attention during the postseason.
The league acknowledged James Harden should've been whistled for an offensive foul on his game-winning shot in the first round against the Golden State Warriors:
The officiating crew for Game 2 of the second round between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs missed a number of calls late in the fourth quarter. Both Dion Waiters and Manu Ginobili committed infractions on Waiters' inbound pass that gave the Spurs a chance to win the game as time expired:
The NBRA argued the last two-minute reports do nothing to affect the outcome of games, and they "[encourage] anger and hostility towards NBA officials" and are used by teams to "mobilize fans" so as to get more preferential treatment on the court.
The Oklahoman's Erik Horne seemed to agree that the reports are somewhat counter-productive as currently used:
ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton, however, isn't so sure about the NBRA's arguments:
The union presented potential changes to the process should the league continue using last-two-minute reports. It asked for the league to identify who completes the reports, in addition to a more consistent interpretation of the rules.
The NBRA would also like to see an appeals process created that will allow officials to have an open discussion regarding the decisions highlighted in the last-two-minute reports.
