United States Army General hired by the NBA for referee operations
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3469129

A United States Army general has been hired by the NBA to the newly created position of senior vice president for referee operations, the league announced Tuesday.

Ronald L. Johnson, a two-star general who recently retired from active duty as deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be responsible for all aspects of the NBA's officiating program, including recruiting, training and development, scheduling, data management and analysis, and work rules enforcement.

Johnson will report to Joel Litvin, the NBA's president for league and basketball operations.
"As I leave the military and return to civilian life, I can't imagine a more interesting and challenging position," Johnson said in a statement. "Although I don't have a basketball background, other than as a lifelong fan, I am confident that my experience as an Army commander and engineer has equipped me to bring leadership and innovation to the NBA's exceptional officiating program."

The announcement of the new role comes as disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's July 14 sentencing looms for his role in a gambling scheme. The 41-year-old Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to felony charges of taking cash payoffs from gamblers in the 2006-07 season. He faces up to 33 months in prison.

Johnson's hiring formalizes the separation of the league's referee and basketball operations functions, as previously announced by the league. Stu Jackson will continue as executive vice president of basketball operations and remain responsible for all other domestic and international basketball matters.

"Ron's wealth of leadership and management experience, together with his engineering expertise in areas such as systems analysis, processes, and operations, make him an ideal candidate to lead our officiating program," commissioner David Stern said in a statement. "Our referees are the best in the world but they never stop striving to improve and Ron has made a career out of getting the very best out of people."

I'm just curious how this guy's name surfaced on the NBA radar in the first place. Did they solicit resumes, was he in the right place at the right time, or does he have a some sort of connection with a NBA big wig?

It's gotta be some kind of connection like that. Who in their right mind would hire somebody with no officiating background for this job? What are they really expecting him to do? Are they just looking for a "tough guy" to run the "rouge" referee organization? Perhaps somebody owes this guy money? :D

Why would you put someone with no prior basketball experience or officiating knowledge in charge of your referees?

I would do that if I didn't want to be challenged by my new hire. I wouldn't want to hire a qualified applicant because then they might take my job from me if they get too good at it. :rolleyes:

-Josh

Then you need to be replaced, by your new hire or just somebody more competent. Good managers hire the most talented people they can get and then let them do what they were hired to do. Besides, how can you move up if you can't be replaced in the job you're currently doing? ;)

The NBE....duh.

Somebody with an officiating background might try to enact something that the League wants nothing to do with...like having the officials actually follow the rules. Can't have that.

Does the WWE actually need to have an actual pro wrestling referee in charge of their officials?

Same story.

I was absolutely being sarcastic, fyi. I would, of course, want to hire the most qualified because it makes me look better. :p

-Josh

In the NBE, traveling, palming....hell, fouls....aren't called by the rulebook. It's sports entertainment.

Anybody that thinks differently just isn't paying attention imo.

I just read MG Johnson's official U.S. Army biography. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and appears to have been an engineering officier his entire Army career which not unusual for a person with his engineering background; I would venture to say that his engineering dicipline is civil engineering based on the positions he has held in the Army. A civilian equivilent position to his current Army position would be most likely be as a vice-president of engineering for a large manufacturing corporation. Which means that what he does for a living has absolutely no correlation to being in charge of sports officials. I have no doubt that he is very good at what he does in the military, but he has no qualifications for the job that the NBA has hired him to do.

MTD, Sr.

LOL!!!

Peace

As a servicemember who has served under Gen Johnson. I too wondered where the qualifications came from. However, you do not have to know the job to managed it and the personnel within the system. Gen Johnson is smart articulate, and pays attention to detail. So, it is my belief that Gen Johnson will do a bang up job!! (good job):D .

This is like saying you shouldn't make it to Division I because you have only been officiating for 5 years. Growth potential. JMO

Essayons!!!

"Let us Try"

Say what?

Don't think so.....and your analogy is not even close.

Try...."This Is like saying that you can make it to Division 1 without ever having officiated a game in your life or knowing a damn thing about the game or it's rules."

Or maybe even closer...."This is like saying that you're qualified to replace Hank Nichols because you have been a good policeman."

And that makes perfect sense because the officiating in the NBE no longer has much to do with...well....officiating. They're getting closer to being traffic cops....keep the show moving and ignore the minor stuff.

As always, jmo.

While I admit it is a strange hire I think most here are being a little...make that a great deal...arrogant. Anyone hired to run a segment of any business at that level within the organization does not necessarily have to know everything there is to know about the "on the floor" details. Executives at that level need to be very good at (1) managing the people that report to them (2) evaluating and hiring their immediate subordinates (3) setting the agenda for the "division" (4) setting the management tone (5) receiving recommendations from thier subordinates and making decisions.

Why is it necessary for someone that he be an official to manage the people reporting directly to him? People are people...assigning them task, setting deadlines and holding them accountable are not skills held exclusively by officials.

What makes anyone think he needs to be one of the top officials in the NBA to select someone to manage particular areas under his jurisdiction? He has an entire officiating staff and others who have called in the league to use as a resource in getting the right person to develop training programs, evaluation systems, etc. He can hire a subordinate to oversee that task.

Why is it necessary that he previously called NBA games to know that official ethics might be an area that needs review and modification. Even if the officials are "the best in the world", does that mean they cannot get better and that there is no need to review, refine and expand the training program? Do the need to implement/refine their efforts to recruit and groom the next generation of top officials? When your 20 best decide to retire, the next 20 on your rating list better be ready to step up. Again, something he can hire someone to handle.

It is not necessary for someone to be an official to set policy related to discipline, promotion, etc. Knowing you have someone who will can your arse if your performance on the floor declines substantially or you do too many stupid things off the floor is not a bad thing. I don't know every single detail about every aspect to the jobs performed be people in my department. However, if my manager comes to me and says they have warned an employee twice, counseled them on improving their performance and given them additional training but things aren't improving I can still make to decision to send them down the road. If someone commits a blatant violation of policy I am still able to hand down the appropriate punishment.

Please...maybe someone should find out exactly what the NBA Commissioner and owners want that position to accomplish before we decide if his qualifications are a match. Just because some things in the job description are obvious does not mean the obvious things are an all inclusive list. There may be other things on the list that are deemed more important in the short to middle term.