Referee Joey Crawford Suspended Indefinitely
I watched Sunday's Mavs-Spurs game and was as mystified as everyone else when Tim Duncan picked up his second technical foul while sitting on the bench. This clip shows how Timmy gets the first technical (sitting on the bench) and then the second, laughing on the bench.
There's been a lot of talk about the two Ts on Duncan, which led to his ejection and helped the Mavs win the game. Reportedly, referee Joey Crawford was asking Duncan if “he wanted to fight,” which not only seems odd but rather foolhearty. Mark Cuban, who usually is outspoken, had the following to say:
I'm not going to comment on what happened during our Spurs game Sunday. My feelings about the subject havent changed and its not worth the money to comment on it here. In fact, I've given up writing in this blog about the NBA because my number one rule of blogging is that if you cant offer an honest opinion, say nothing.
He's got a good point. Why complain or lambast the officiating when, (a) the error in judgement was so crystal clear and out of line that any commentary is really unnecessary, and (b) such commentary will result in a ham-fisted fine from the commish? So best to hold your tounge and just say, “You know what happened, and it was unfortunate.” While Tim Duncan's ejection helped the Mavs secure the W, you know Mark would rather have had Timmy out on the floor. He's a businessman and he knows people are paying their hard earned money to see the best players play, not to see them get tossed because they are laughing while sitting on the bench.
The good news is that David Stern is also a clever and intelligent businessman and realizes such behavior by referees detracts from the quality and marketability of the game. In response, he has suspended Joey Crawford for the remainder of the season and playoffs and will speak to him in the offseason about the game and his likelihood for returning. Crawford was one of 10 NBA refs who were charged with filing false income tax returns in 1998. He resigned from the NBA, but was reinstated by Stern in 1999.