Q&A: Why NBA referees agreed to a vaccine mandate

Late last month, the NBA sent out a short news release announcing an agreement with the union representing the league's referees to mandate Covid-19 vaccines. It stipulated that all referees must to be fully vaccinated to work games, including "recommended boosters."

Otherwise, the statement said, referees couldn't work.

The announcement came after a tumultuous NBA season in which several referees had to miss games because they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive, sometimes forcing the league to call up G League officials to fill the gap.

The agreement was notable at a time when labor unions across various industries have been split on whether to agree to vaccine mandates for their members. Some unions, like the American Nurses Association, have supported mandates out of concern for members' health, while others, most prominently police unions, have pushed back against mandates, saying they infringe on members' rights to make their own health decisions.

The issue has become highly politicized, as have many restrictions around the virus. Vaccine mandates have long been common in schools and colleges, and are routine for travel between countries.

The National Basketball Referees Association represents 145 members who officiate NBA, WNBA and G League games, in addition to 50 retirees. Their agreement stands out in the sports world, and even in their own sport: No such mandate exists with NBA players, creating a potentially awkward situation where some league employees are mandated to take the vaccine and others aren't. (The league, however, has handed down guidance players on the Nets, Knicks and the Golden State Warriors must be fully vaccinated to play at home, since local rules stipulate that only vaccinated individuals can enter arenas.)

Of the 73 NBA referees in the union — five of whom are women — 36 percent are at least 45 years old.

The NFL and MLB do not have similar agreements with their referees or their players that the NBA has with its referees. The NHL does not mandate its players or referees to get vaccinated but a league spokesperson said Monday that all of its referees have been vaccinated before the upcoming season. A spokesman for MLB said that the league strongly recommends vaccines for all umpires and is now considering "adjustments" in light of the recent Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer vaccine, but did not say whether that would mean a mandate. In March, the head of the MLB's players union, Tony Clark, said that the group he leads was against a mandate.

Marc Davis, the a member of the executive board of the basketball referees' union and a referee himself for more than two decades, said in an interview that the agreement was born of a strong relationship with the NBA, and the referees were broadly in favor of the mandate.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Can you tell me how the vaccine mandate came about?

When you have a collaborative environment between management and labor, I think you're constantly always working through issues and there's a constant dialogue back and forth.

It's a shared view of vaccines that they are probably one of the top three inventions in the history of humankind. And to have this access to this innovative vaccine and allow us to continue to work, to do our business and to continue to work collaboratively, it's not that difficult of a conversation to begin and to work through.

What's the value of the mandate for the referees' union if the players haven't agreed to one?

Well, first of all, we're our own independent group, and I think that the players will come to some agreement. They're working out their issues as well. They may have different issues than we had or just a different pace. I can't speak to them, but I'm certain that they will work through their issues as well.

The benefit of the mandate is that our officials are flying commercially. They have families they're coming back to. We're engaged in the business of basketball. We're in intimate environments with our players. We recognize the importance of the vaccine. I think this will all work itself out on all levels among all leagues.

Was there a significant amount of resistance from those within the union whom this would affect?

With the understanding that the players are your co-workers, was there resistance along the lines of 'Why should we agree to a mandate if the players haven't agreed to one?'

No, because we know that when we initially began our conversations that they had begun conversations as well. We just reached an agreement prior to them. We did it at our own pace. We weren't concerned with another group's decision.

How much did you follow what other labor unions were doing as you were doing your negotiations? Were you in touch with other referee unions?

We were in constant communication with the players' association. We were in constant communication with the hockey, baseball and NFL officials. Other labor unions, like the Southwest Airlines mechanics, the United Airlines employees. They had some very difficult things and they weren't able to work through them. It turned out to be something other than what we agreed to. We just didn't have that experience with the NBA It never became a contentious butting of heads.

Do you believe that the players' union should agree to one in the same way that you guys have?