Wed Apr 23 20:12:19 2008

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Officials mourn death of former NBA referee Garretson

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Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Darell Garretson, who served a 17-year tenure as chief of officiating for the NBA, passed away Monday night. He was 76.

The National Basketball Referees Association said Garretson's health had been declining following surgery and various illnesses, and that he passed away at his Phoenix area home.

Garretson began his career as an NBA referee in 1967. In 1981, he was chosen as NBA Chief of Officiating. He sent 31 years supervising, evaluating and training NBA officials on and off the court until he retired in 1998. He also helped to created the NBA referees' first union.

"Our grief at losing Darell Garretson is not just about the loss of an icon, a refereeing legend - although he certainly is both of those things,," said Lamell McMorris, Spokesperson for the NBRA. "It is much more personal. Darell discovered and developed so many of our current referees. He saw a glimmer of real talent in them, be they Joe DeRosa at an officiating camp in small-town Indiana, David Jones refereeing NCAA games, or Bob Delaney or Derrick Stafford in the CBA. He took them and he coached them, tirelessly, and he made them some of the most elite referees in the world."