Eric Lewis has retired from officiating in the NBA, the league announced. This statement came after the NBA opened an official investigation into a Twitter account allegedly belonging to Lewis.
Because of Lewis’ decision, the NBA will stop its probe into the matter, which inevitably causes more controversy in the eyes of basketball fans.
Lewis spent most of his 19-year NBA career in relative anonymity until he made an obvious non-call in a late January 2023 game between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. In the closing seconds, with the game tied, LeBron James drove hard to the basket, but Jayson Tatum hacked him across the arm. Lewis and the other officials never blew the whistle.
In a hilarious interaction afterward, Patrick Beverley pulled a camera on Lewis’ face, prompting the veteran ref to call a technical.
In May of last year, someone accused Lewis of operating a burner account on Twitter. Lewis purportedly used the account to defend his actions against fans’ criticisms. For instance, when a fan tweeted, “Lakers being swept but no Eric Lewis,” Cuttliff Blair replied, “I don’t think he was ever the problem.”
On another occasion, somebody posted Lewis’ picture with the caption, “I don’t trust this guy.” The account replied, “You shouldn’t trust Twitter or this guy tweeting false stats. They got y’all fooled.”
The allegation drew the attention of James and Beverley, who then took their thoughts and opinions to Twitter.
The rules prohibit NBA officials from talking about officiating without authorization from the NBA. Lewis could have faced a substantial penalty if the league determined that the account belonged to him. However, everything is water under the bridge now, as far as the NBA is concerned.
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