The noise from 18,000 people can cover up a lot of sounds in an NBA arena. So when a back-bench assistant coach yells “bulls****" after a call he doesn’t like, the official never hears it and the game moves on.
Not when NBA games restart in fan-less facilities in Orlando in a couple of months. Without those fans, referees are going to get to hear that coach. And a whole lot more.
It’s going to be weird for referees in Orlando, just like for players, veteran official Scott Foster said recently on NBA TV.
Scott Foster explains what it might be like to referee in an environment without fans on #GameTime pic.twitter.com/4hQc7vLAI0
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 27, 2020
“I know I don’t want everything that we normally say to each other going out. But normally we’re all in a professional manner out there. But it is going to be different. There’s going to be some assistant coaches that we haven’t really heard from before sitting in the second row that we’ll be able to hear now, so there’s going to be some adjustment there. And then I think we’re going to need to really talk about and analyze what is OK for the public to hear and how we’re going to go about our business.
“But it’s definitely going to be a different thing. I’m definitely looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be a really unique experience for the referees, players, coaches, everybody who’s going to go through this.”
It is going to be unique. Everybody is going to hear everything, and that is going to be very different from most nights when coaches have to go to hand signals because it’s too loud just to call out a play. It’s going to lead to some awkward and tense moments.
Everyone is going to have to adjust to the new reality, and that includes the referees, too.