Referees in the NBA

Ever wonder how important a referee is during a game of basketball? It's not on the mind usually as one watches a basketball game. Yet in real life the referees have a tough job that requires athleticism and a lot of knowledge of basketball. In some occasions, a ref is not on the good side of fans because they may call a call that should not have been called or they set back the favorite team. Yet it is their job to call fouls, penalties, and so on. Most people ignore this and most of the time blame everything on refs. For example, during the last years NBA Championship Finals when Celtics lost to the Lakers, a lot of people were disappointed with the way refs dealt with that game. They were doing there job and it was not their fault. Being a ref is a hard job in a game such as basketball because it is a very fast sport and sometimes calls aren't called while sometimes wrong calls are called. 

Refereeing is a full time job. Usually refs have three games in a week. During that time they can travel to LA, Boston, or even Miami. So these guys are always on the move. During a game there are usually either two or three refs. The equipment of a usual ref is a whistle to halt the game when needed too, a uniform with an NBA logo,etc. Every referee has to know hand signals that are commonly used in officiating. It is a hard job to become a ref in the NBA, because a ref has to have a lot of prior experience in officiating in basketball games. His experience should revolve around YMCA's, high schools, college level games, and some lower league NBA games. When the ref becomes more experienced he is able to start refereeing in the big league.