We all love the NBA, but if there is one aspect that tends to get on the nerves of players and fans alike, it is the officiating. The ideal NBA game has no one talking about the referees after it ends, but some of them have made it a habit of making it all about themselves.
The game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder saw another instance of a referee making himself the story. With Memphis down big, Ja Morant was seemingly having a conversation with a Grizzlies fan when he was bizarrely assessed his second technical of the game and was ejected.
Ja was just ejected for talking to a fan 🤔 https://t.co/c491M6wZqB
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 18, 2022
NBA fans were furious after this call and went off at referee Ray Acosta and the officiating in general this season.
“Same ref who called 6 techs in the Warriors – Bucks game this week , he’s making it about himself”
“NBA refs are a joke.”
“These refs have been extra terrible this year. You all might need to do some retraining @NBAOfficial. It’s interfering w/ the business of the @NBA.”
“fine or fire him”
“The fan he was talking to wasn’t even a heckler. The conversation doesn’t even seem hostile..what in the world just happened.”
“So let me get this straight. You throw out the main attraction on the court because of a fan interaction? If “The game is rigged” was a referee”
“NBA refs ejecting stars for no reason is ruining the game. Silver gotta step in”
“Refs need to be held accountable a fine suspension or something”
“Worst refs in sports”
“Refs mind your business ‍♂️”
“Refs are ruining basketball”
“Man the @NBAOfficial @NBA is worse than a private school with all these soft rules “
“SMH, this league is such a mess with their refs. Make it make sense.”
“The officials, once again, making the game about themselves. NBA, you’re not doing yourselves any favors here.”
“He always has a quick whistle. Refs constantly ruin the games”
“They should never ref a game again”
“Bro these refs are terrible. No one paid to see them”
“Ray Acosta is one of the worst refs ever. He called like 4 techs in one game the other day and none were warranted”
“Gonna keep happening until the refs are held accountable”
“This ref tryna be a superstar.”
Morant’s reaction toward the fan after the ejection doesn’t seem to indicate any bad blood either, which is what makes this even more absurd. We will probably get an explanation from the NBA at some point, but it is certainly a bad look.
The Referees Have Come Under Fire All Season
The referees have a very hard job, and it is easy to criticize them when we’re just watching the games, but that said, some of the decisions they have made this season are just flat-out wrong. We had Jayson Tatum get a technical foul for clapping at a referee, and Kevin Durant called it the worst tech he’d seen in the NBA for a while.
Luka Doncic recently received a technical for yelling at his own teammate , and commissioner Adam Silver needs to do something about this. There has to be a way to hold the referees accountable so that incidents like these don’t happen with such regularity.
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