Sources: NBA investigating ref over alleged tweets

The NBA has opened an investigation into longtime referee Eric Lewis involving a Twitter account that responded to quite a few posts on league officiating and defended Lewis and different NBA referees, league sources confirmed to ESPN.

The account in query, which has since been deleted, was listed beneath a username “Blair Cuttliff” with the deal with @CuttliffBlair.

At potential problem is a league rule towards referees commenting on officiating publicly with out authorization. If it may be proved Lewis was making such statements, he might face self-discipline.

Lewis, who’s in his nineteenth season as a referee, has officiated greater than 1,100 video games and 82 playoff video games. He has been one of many NBA’s highest-rated officers lately and has been assigned to 6 Finals video games since 2019. He final labored Recreation 1 of the Western Convention finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers on Might 16.

Burner accounts have been a problem within the NBA up to now. In 2018, Philadelphia 76ers normal supervisor Bryan Colangelo resigned when he and his spouse had been linked to burner accounts that criticized among the group’s gamers. In 2020, then-Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant admitted that had used a number of burner accounts to work together with followers who criticized him or his group.

NBA reporter Marc Stein first reported the league had opened an investigation into Lewis.