National Basketball Association

Refs ratify agreement, will return to work

Published Oct. 24, 2009 4:54 a.m. ET

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The officials ratified the deal that was reached earlier this week in a vote on Friday. No details of the vote were provided, nor were terms of the agreement.

"We are pleased to reach this agreement," NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement. "The negotiations extended further than either side had hoped, but when our regular season tips off on Tuesday we'll have the best referees in the world officiating our games."

The referees union did not comment.

The referees will begin a three-day training camp on Saturday and be ready when the regular season starts. The league had been using replacement officials during exhibition play.

The contract between the league and the National Basketball Referees Association expired on Sept. 1, and the league announced it was locking out the officials on Sept. 18, saying they had rejected its final contract offer.

The NBA decided to go with replacement officials late last month after the referees rejected a deal the league said its negotiators had already agreed to.