Union reps for players, referees meet to discuss ongoing tensions

NBA players and referees haven't been on the best of terms this season, and the leaders representing each faction are seeking to ease the mounting tensions.

NBA Players Association boss Michele Roberts recently met with Lee Seham, the general counsel for the National Basketball Referees Association, to try to address the concerns that both sides have expressed, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Seham relayed his clients' complaints that players are being given too much latitude to verbally abuse referees, while Roberts countered that the players feel the officials have been condescending and disrespectful toward them, according to Wojnarowski.

Roberts said players are specifically frustrated by refs holding up a hand when approached with a complaint about a call or non-call, and their quick trigger when it comes to giving technical fouls.

"Our players also complained about being ignored, told to 'shut up,' told to 'move,' or, in extreme circumstances, hit with a technical," Roberts said.

"There have been four or five occasions when a player has gone to say, 'Hey, what's up with that?' and the official holds his hand up like a stop sign, like, 'I don't have time to talk to you.' ... Lee told me, 'That's what they're trained to do.'

"I think it's a horrible idea. I hope someone over in (NBA) basketball operations will maybe reconsider that, because it doesn't serve to be a de-escalation of things - it really pisses guys off. ... This is more about where they came up to an official and asked, 'What's up with that?' and they've been given a technical for something other than an F-bomb."

This season's featured a number of high-profile ejections, including three for Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant - who'd previously been ejected just twice in his 10-year career - and a first-ever ejection for New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis. It also resulted in a rare referee suspension, when official Courtney Kirkland was held out for a week after escalating an on-court dispute with Warriors guard Shaun Livingston.

But the numbers suggest the referees have actually been slightly more lenient this season than last when it comes to doling out technical fouls or ejections to players. Through 930 games this season, there have been 565 player technicals assessed, and 17 player ejections, according to data compiled by FOX Sports. That puts the league on pace for 1,495 techs and 45 ejections for a full season - down from 1,532 and 69 in 2016-17.

Roberts said that she and Seham agreed to organize an informal meeting between a select group of players and referees to try to hash things out during All-Star weekend.

"What is going to make a difference is to have our players sit down and discuss their grievances with officials," she said. "They clearly can't do that on the court. We need to do it at a time when there's no game on the line, or you're not thinking, 'What's he or she going to do to me in the next quarter if I complain?' ...

"We talked about this a couple of years ago. I thought it would be interesting. Now, I think it's something that's necessary."