Speaking on SiriusXM NBA Radio, league commissioner Adam Silver dropped a bombshell on the ongoing beef between Chris Paul and veteran referee Scott Foster. In the aftermath of their latest in-game exchange, Silver called on them both to keep things professional in the face of whatever private matters are currently keeping them at war.
“Scott is one of the most respected NBA officials and one of the highest-rated NBA officials,” said Silver. “Which is why he referees in our Finals games. Of course, Chris’s track record speaks for itself. The way we’ve tried to handle that is to talk to both of them and say the expectation is you’re going to be professional. Whatever the bad blood is between you two, you don’t have to be friends, but you gotta both go out and do your jobs.”
“[Chris Paul and NBA Referee Scott Foster] don’t have to be friends but you both have to go out and do your jobs”.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver explains to @TermineRadio & @JumpShot8 his expectations with Paul and Foster moving forward
Full Interview: https://t.co/B3xtNlJthk pic.twitter.com/NdU9iYMUb3
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 6, 2023
Relations between players and officials have never been perfect, but the dynamic between Paul and Foster took things to a whole new level. After a while of silently butting heads, their rivalry has become much more obvious in recent years to the point where some fans were calling for the league itself to step in and take action.
What Happened Between Paul And Scott Foster?
We may never know what it was that began the feud between these guys, but things started to get fishy in 2021 when Chris Paul cited his 11-game losing streak for games called by Foster. It wasn’t until April of last season that Paul broke the streak, finally getting a win after going 0-13 over nine years. Fast forward to November of this season, and Paul takes the rivalry up a notch by calling Foster a “b*tch” after Foster ejected him from the game.
According to Chris Paul, the problem is personal with Foster and it has to do with a situation regarding his son. “We had a situation some years ago, and it’s personal,” said Chris. “The league knows, everybody knows, and it’s been a meeting and all that. It’s a situation with my son and so, yeah.
Since their last encounter, there have been calls for the NBA to refrain from putting the two in the same game together but it seems Adam Silver has no plans to accommodate a personal personal rivalries.
NBA Officiating Under Doubt
While the NBA takes great pride in its officiating crew, things haven’t always been perfect on that front. Referees, like any human, are subject to mistakes, and officials like Tim Donaghy have even been caught trying to taint the product. Fortunately, Scott Foster seems to be a good and honest official on paper but that’s not reason enough for fans to ignore his past.
Between refs like Foster making things personal on the court and refs like Donaghy jeopardizing the integrity of the game itself, it’s no wonder why some fans are buying into the crazy conspiracy theories. For Adam Silver and the NBA, they will keep doing whatever they can to support the officials but the message needs to be sent that not even the refs are above accountability.
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