• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, December 14, 2015

There are few media-related jobs quite as unforgiving as professional sports referee: when they make the right call everyone takes it for granted and they’re basically invisible, whereas if someone takes issue with a call… yikes. Basically, the only time people acknowledge their existence is when they’re angry at them. Sounds great, where do I sign up?

The advent of social media has provided yet another channel for loyal fans to direct vitriol towards refs -- but it also gives these much-maligned game officials a chance to respond and present their side of the story. It also gives them a platform to demonstrate how challenging their job is, as well as show that they’re regular human beings, hopefully earning a little more leeway from the fans.

That’s the idea behind the National Basketball Referees Association’s (NBRA) online initiative, created by Commerce House, which includes a Web site and social media presence to engage the public and humanize the men and women in black and white.

Although individual referees still aren’t allowed to speak to the press or public about their decisions, the NBRA serves as an official representative for all NBA referees, which includes providing public responses on behalf of particular refs.

In one example from earlier this year, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul took issue with a call by then-rookie referee Lauren Holtkamp, who called a technical foul against him. As Holtkamp is one of just two female refs serving the NBA, the controversy quickly took on a gender dimension, especially when Paul opined “this might not be for her,” which many took to mean she shouldn’t be refereeing because she’s a woman.

The NBRA was quick to respond on social media, tweeting support for Holtkamp’s decision with the hashtag #shebelongs, which quickly went viral as fans expressed solidarity with the ref (many also noting Paul’s history of griping). Paul was later fined $25,000 for the comment, which he denied involved any reference to gender.

The NBRA social media effort goes beyond wading into controversy, however: according to Commerce House founder Mark Denesuk, additional initiatives aim to “position the referees as the protectors of pure basketball” and “humanize them” with a variety of branded content. For example some posts highlight their charitable work (refs participating in school reading programs through Scholastic), or invite followers to take quizzes to see if they understand the complex hand signals used by refs. Lifestyle content will also play a role, and followers can even expect some humor from the usually stoic arbiters of the game.