The union leaders for the NBA's referees have refused to put the league's latest contract offer to a vote.
"I am disappointed that the union has chosen to reject the proposal without having a vote of the membership," NBA commissioner David Stern said Monday.The NBA said its offer would have raised salaries to $85,000 this season for rookie refs and $261,000 for those at top scale. In the final year of the five-season offer, pay would range from $90,000 to $328,000.
NBA referees have been locked out since Oct. 1 and replaced by substitute officials. The regular referees have been used the last two games in Toronto.