Apparently David Stern has Tim Duncan's back.
After referee Joey Crawford hit Tim Duncan with two technical fouls - the second for laughing at calls while Duncan was on the bench - and ejected him from Sunday's game vs. Dallas, Stern took similar actions against Crawford.
He tossed him.
The NBA has now suspended Crawford indefinitely, and he will not be working the playoffs this year. Good. He doesn't deserve to work the post-season if he truly asked Duncan, "Do you want to fight?" With so many players having over-inflated egos on the court, there certainly isn't room for an official to get a big head.
I thought the second T was stupid, but the NBA's response makes up for it. If Crawford did in fact ref in the playoffs, there would be no way he could ref in the Western Conference. He has clearly demonstrated some harsh feelings toward Duncan, one of the classier (or at least one of the better behaved) players in the Association.
Crawford needs to sit at home and watch the NBA playoffs over the next two months. In doing so, he should take a look at all the refs who don't try to pick fights with players. I know it's tough for a ref to take so much heat and not respond back, but that's their job. And because Crawford couldn't do his job the right way, he won't be allowed to do it at all.
Now I know why Tim Duncan was laughing. A referee being ejected; now that's funny.
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2 comments:
Couple of things:
Firstly, there are arguments both ways for whether or not Crawford should have T'ed up Duncan. A clause in the rules states that any disrespectful conduct towards a ref can result in a T. However, another clause states that refs should try to avoid throwing Ts out if possible. That second clause is basically a judgement call (not that I trust Crawford's judgement), so it is not unreasonable for him to call the T.
My guess is that the NBA's decision to suspend Crawford was based solely on the 'Do you want to fight?' comment, which was completely uncalled for.
My personal opinion of Crawford (as a fan) is that he is a pain in the ass. Not because of his calls (good or bad), but because he likes to get attention, and this is the most undesireable quality a ref might have. Their JOB is to NOT be noticed.
On the other hand. Duncan may be a premier player in the league, but that doesn't make him classy. He complains a lot (though he usually doesn't go overboard), but most players complain a lot. I think classy is a particularly strong word to use though.
On the whole, I'm glad Crawford was suspened, though I think the NBA needs to get it's act together and stick to a story. Either give the refs all of the power, in which case I will most certainly stop caring about the NBA, or make refs more responsible for their calls and actions.
On a more personal note, I have your blog in my bookmarks. Good to see you have finally started posting more frequently.
In response to your comments, Matthew...
I do agree that the "Do you wanna fight?" comments are most likely the reason Stern issued the suspension. The thing that I found surprising is that I didn't see Crawford vehemently denying those remarks, which he certainly would have it he hadn't said them. That tells me that he did say, and if this guy is actually challenging players to fights on the court, he deserves being thrown off it.
I understand the rules state that players and coaches are not to treat players with disrespect, but I always wondered what stopped refs from disrespecting players/coaches. Now that we've seen this punishment, we know the answer.
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Thanks for your comments. Appreciate the feedback.
-Josh
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