Jimmy Clark was munching on a late-night meal at the Denver Marriott Airport restaurant when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich approached.
Usually when an NBA coach comes face to face with a referee, the conversation is not a friendly one.
But on this evening, Popovich was in a gracious mood.
“How can you officiate?” Popovich asked Clark. “How can you go out every night and do this, because it is an impossible job. You can’t get it right. Even if you think you got it right, 50 percent of the people say you didn’t.
“I don’t know if it’s a love of the game or the competition or you played as a kid.”
To which Clark said: “Pop, it’s with smoke and mirrors.”
For Clark and his fellow NBA referees, their occupation becomes their life in one of the most scrutinized jobs in all of sports. Games and careers can hang in the balance depending on how they blow their whistle.
At age 62, in his 20th NBA season, having called more than 1,100 professional games, the Silver Fox is nearing the finish line of his career.
He’s not quite ready to make his last call, however.
“I want to referee as long as I’m healthy enough to do it and I enjoy it,” the Aurora resident said. “I enjoy this job.”
Despite the physical toll and mental stress, spending night after night on the road for the better part of six months. Despite missing many of the milestones of his sons’ lives while they grew up. Despite the endless stream of verbal abuse from players, coaches, fans and even owners.
It’s moments such as the 2003 All-Star Game in Atlanta that make it all worthwhile, Clark said. Not only was it his lone All-Star Game, it was Michael Jordan’s last. The NBA legend gave a warning to his foes during the pregame practice meeting Clark will never forget.
“Michael got up and said, ‘Let me tell you something. This is my last All-Star Game, and I’m not here to fool around. We’re going to kick your (butt).’
“I went, ‘All right.”‘
Close bonds
Being an NBA referee is more than just showing up at the arena with a zebra shirt, a pair of black Reeboks and a whistle. Travel is the biggest headache. In back-to-back games, referees must take the first flight out the next morning after game one to ensure getting to the next city.
“If you’re lucky, you can sleep for two to three hours,” Clark said of the quick turnarounds.
Clark and fellow referees Michael Henderson and Phil Robinson arrived at Clark’s Salt Lake City hotel suite late in the morning Jan. 14 for their usual game-day meeting. Henderson is always glad to see Clark, who has served as a mentor. On Feb. 5, 2004, Henderson missed a call that led to a Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Nuggets, 112-111. Henderson was publicly reprimanded and suspended with pay for eight days.
“He’s so good at teaching,” Henderson said. “One day I’ll return the favor with a fellow young official, and hopefully he or she will appreciate all my hard work as if I was a Jimmy Clark.”
The referees ride together to the Delta Center for early-evening game. They meet with NBA group supervisor Tommy Nuñez, a former referee, about 90 minutes before tipoff to look over game notes and talk about matchups, player tendencies and unusual rule situations.
Just before tipoff, Jazz owner Larry H. Miller approaches Clark.
“He said, ‘It’s always good to see you because we always know what we’re going to get with you,”‘ Clark said. “‘You just call them like you see them.’ It was really a nice compliment. I said, ‘Larry, you should say that at my funeral.”‘
Referees remember every compliment they get. There aren’t many in a job that by nature is filled with tension. They face immense scrutiny, with television cameras everywhere, newspaper and online media watching every play and fans who are much more knowledgeable about the referees. NBA supervisors watch their every move, too.
“In the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s, the officials determined how the game was going to be refereed,” Clark said. “There was no competition committee. No phone calls to the (league) office. No tape.
“Then with the evolution of six, seven, eight cameras at a game, the evolution of computers, e-mails and high-tech video equipment, the scrutiny of what we do has increased dramatically.”
Come tipoff, Clark’s nervous tension eases.
“I get sweaty palms every single time, (but) once the ball goes up I’m in a familiar place and I relax,” Clark said. “Because of my relaxed focus, I get really good looks at plays.”
On this night the Miami Heat, led by guard Dwyane Wade’s 31 points, defeats Utah 100-94. Afterward, Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton decline comment when asked about Clark, which did not surprise the ref.
“The nature of refereeing players is so inherently combative,” Clark said. “We’re just enemies. That’s why I’ve never asked a player for an autograph, shoes or nothing until they retire. I don’t want them to look at me like, ‘Where’s the foul?’ I don’t talk a lot with them on the floor.
“First of all, they don’t want to hear what you have to say. When I start talking the veteran players will tell you to watch out. I’m about to start handing out technicals. When you’re a referee, you’ve got to draw the line. When someone crosses that line, I don’t care who it is, you have to deal with it.”
And Clark doesn’t hesitate to deal with it.
After a recent Nuggets victory over Minnesota – a game that included four technical fouls – Timberwolves all-star Kevin Garnett said, “Jimmy was not the one to be played with tonight. … As we say, he was throwing the smack down early.”
Clark’s most infamous run-in came Jan. 18, 1993, when then-Phoenix star Charles Barkley jumped over a scorer’s table to chase him to the dressing room at Madison Square Garden. The two later settled their differences.
“I respect him probably more than any other official for the simple fact that when I went crazy on him, he never held it against me,” Barkley said. “Obviously I made a mistake. Some of these officials, if you do something to (get them angry), they hold it against you for the rest of your career.”
Coaches such as Popovich and Utah’s Jerry Sloan express similar sentiments. While they will always argue calls, they respect Clark’s approach.
“He’s a guy that works hard every night,” Sloan said. “He gets a little hot tempered. That’s OK; I’d rather have a guy like that than one laid-back.”
Said Popovich: “You always have the feeling that he is doing his (best) to do it right. If he doesn’t, you get the feeling that it really bothers him. He realizes that this is our lives. It might just be a call to them, maybe, but to us it can change careers.”
Family takes back seat
Growing up as Jimmy Clark’s son was not all fun and games. Dad was on television all the time, rubbing elbows with celebrities and athletes, but was rarely at home from November to April.
The lack of a home life took a terrible toll on his family. Clark said it probably led to his divorce two years ago. While proud of their father, Jim’s sons – Ben (26), Tim (25), Chase (23) and Landry (20) – admit his career choice made growing up difficult at times.
“It’s hard when you’ve got three brothers and your dad’s not around to referee all the fights,” said Tim Clark, a mortgage broker. “But all he had to do was get on the phone and it would be over quick. It was tough not having him there for a football game or a basketball game, but we knew he was bringing home the bacon. When he was around, he always came to our games.”
Said Jimmy Clark: “I knew it was going to put a strain on the family. You average about 120, 130 days on the road. But the money is good.”
NBA referees make from around $90,000 for beginners up to $340,000 for the best, most experienced officials, with Clark closer to the latter figure. Chase recalled his father being home for one of his birthdays, his 17th. The reason? The NBA lockout during the 1999-2000 season. Clark’s absence was probably the roughest on his ex-wife, Julie. Clark said she felt like a single mother left to raise four boys. The Clarks separated in 1994 although they lived under the same roof in different rooms, primarily in Austin, Texas, to raise their sons for the next decade. Two years ago they divorced and Clark, who played basketball at the University of Texas, moved to Aurora.
“With the size of our family and the fact we are all boys, it made it tougher on my mom just having Dad around a couple times a month,” Tim Clark said. “It weighed on their relationship.”
Said Jimmy Clark: “Over the years we became friends again. All the angst and bitter feelings disappeared. A lot of marriages suffer with NBA referees. It’s because of all the days on the road.”
Julie did not return calls for this story.
Through it all, the bond between Jimmy Clark and his sons has been strong.
“The summers made it great,” Ben Clark said. “We spent a lot of time together playing golf, going to baseball games.”
His sons kid him about how well he still moves for someone his age. Clark knows his time running down NBA floors is nearing an end. The only referees older than Clark are Jack Nies (68), Dick Bavetta (66) and Jess Kersey (64).
Clark has had surgery on his left knee twice. He has traded grueling jogs during the offseason for riding the exercise bike or swimming.
For now, the roar of the crowd, the ability to work at something he loves and get paid well for it keeps him going.
“I’ve got good genes,” Clark said. “I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. I still feel good. How long will I go? I’m not going to put a date.”
He has one dream left – making the call for the NBA Finals. It’s the glaring omission from his résumé. The closest he came was being an alternate for Game 2 of last year’s Finals between San Antonio and Detroit.
“The pressure of the Finals? You don’t know how much pressure there is,” he said. “The NBA is there on pins and needles. It would mean a lot to me. A culmination of a great career.”
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
