Hue Hollins

Hue Spencer Hollins, Sr. (November 28, 1940 - July 4, 2013) [1] was an American professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his 27-year career in the NBA, Hollins officiated 19 NBA Finals games and five NBA All-Star Games. He is notable for working the Finals every year during the 1990s and for a notorious call during a 1994 NBA Playoffs game between the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. Hollins was probed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over the 2007 NBA betting scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghy.

Hollins grew up in Waco, Texas. He was involved in sports, playing basketball and baseball throughout his childhood, while focusing on baseball during high school. Following high school, Hollins was offered a contract to join the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but declined and opted to join the military. Spending four years in the United States Navy, Hollins enrolled at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He graduated from the school with a double major in sociology and psychology and was later hired as a high school counselor.