Fired ref on list for replacement training camp

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer 1 hour, 27 minutes ago

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NEW YORK (AP)—A referee who was previously fired by the NBA is among the group of replacements who have agreed to participate in training camp next week.

Michael Henderson is one of 44 who was sent an e-mail from the NBA’s referees operations department on Friday. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail, which provides the replacements with details about the meetings, scheduled to begin Thursday in New York.

The NBA announced Friday that it would train replacement officials after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with its referees union.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said he could not confirm any names on the list because the league hadn’t finalized it yet.

Henderson missed three games—the union called it a suspension—after he was called to league headquarters following an incorrect call in a game between Denver and the Lakers in February 2004. He mistakenly whistled a shot clock violation on a Denver shot that brushed the rim and was rebounded by a Nuggets player. The officials huddled and ruled it an inadvertent whistle, resulting in a jump ball. The Lakers won the tip and made the game-winning shot with 3.2 seconds left.

After the league publicly acknowledged the error, nearly all the officials responded the next night by wearing their jerseys inside-out with Henderson’s No. 62 on the back.

The league would not say why Henderson was fired.