- Seasoned veteran NBA referee Eric Lewis retired
- The ref courted controversy for a purported burner account
- His retirement also ended the NBA investigation
NBA referee Eric Lewis who generated headlines for his burner account earlier this year has retired.
Lewis sparked controversy after some now-deleted tweets were revealed by some fans in May. This prompted the NBA to open an investigation into whether he broke league rules by speaking about referring in an unauthorized manner.
The account that was reportedly used by Lewis under the name Blair Cutliff was deactivated but was active again. In the wake of his retirement, the NBA issued a statement saying the investigation into his social media activity was closed.
The statement is as follows:
“NBA referee Eric Lewis has informed the league that he is retiring, effective immediately. In light of his decision, the NBA’s investigation into his social media activity has been closed.”
NBA referee Eric Lewis has retired pic.twitter.com/vwCqao6tJr
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 30, 2023
Previously, Lewis was not part of the 2023 NBA Finals referee list. He was not among the dozen referees selected to officiate in the Finals.
Based on previous experience and playoff reviews, Lewis would have made the cut had he not been under investigation by the league, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports before the Finals began.
Lewis has worked as a ref for more than 1,200 games, counting both the regular season and the playoffs, in his 19 seasons as an NBA referee.
He last worked May 16, when Denver played the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The reports of the tweets regarding his burner account came out a week later.
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