Field Level Media
01 Jun 2023, 20:10 GMT+10
Referee Eric Lewis was not among 12 officials selected to work the NBA Finals as the league investigates whether he used a burner account on Twitter to defend himself from critics.
Lewis was on the NBA crew for the past four Finals.
Game 1 is Thursday night between the Miami Heat and the host Denver Nuggets.
"Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter and he will not be working the Finals," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Thursday, per ESPN.
The list of officials announced Thursday morning includes Scott Foster, working the Finals for the 16th time. Tony Brothers and Marc Davis were each chosen or the 12th time. Also picked were Zach Zarba, John Goble, Ed Malloy, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Josh Tiven, Courtney Kirkland, James Williams and Kevin Scott.
"The pinnacle for an NBA official is to work the NBA Finals," league president of basketball operations Byron Spruell said in a news release.
Lewis has worked more than 1,200 games in 19 seasons in the league. His last assignment was on May 16 for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA is probing Lewis' connection to the Twitter account @CuttliffBlair, which was brought to light by user @PabloEscoburner. The site was created in November 2015 and, according to screengrabs, has been a constant defender of Lewis and NBA officiating overall, responding to negative tweets and highlighting Lewis' work.
NBA reporter Marc Stein first reported the investigation on Friday, and ESPN and The Athletic confirmed through sources on Sunday that the league is investigating Lewis and his link to the account.
When PabloEscoburner first tweeted about the account and a possible link to Lewis, CuttliffBlair replied that the account was run by Lewis' older brother, Mark. PabloEscoburner then showed the account as deleted later in the day, but as of Sunday night the account was active.
Of note, the account followed six users: PabloEscoburner, four NBA-related accounts (@RefAnalytics, @OfficialNBARefs, @NBA and @NBAOfficial), and @MasonWBB -- the official account of George Mason women's basketball. Eric Lewis' wife Vanessa Blair-Lewis is the head coach at George Mason.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Austin Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Austin Globe.
More InformationSAN FRANCISCO, California: Levi Strauss is parting ways with Dockers. The denim giant announced this week that it will sell the Dockers...
OTTAWA, Canada: Canada's inflation picture became more complicated in April, with headline inflation easing but core measures ticking...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks had a volatile day on Thursday after the House of Representatives narrowly passed President Donald...
ATLANTA, Georgia: Home Depot plans to hold prices steady despite the added strain of tariffs, the company said, but warned that some...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit last week against Southwest Airlines. The lawsuit, filed near the...
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Airbus is in discussions with Malaysian airlines to introduce its A220 aircraft, the company's Asia-Pacific...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal appeals court recently lifted a block that had stopped President Donald Trump's administration from removing...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Parts of the U.S. and Canada may not have enough electricity this summer if hot weather causes more people to use...
Washington [US], May 21 (ANI): The makers of the Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz starrer 'Caught Stealing' have unveiled the trailer...
New Delhi [India], May 18 (ANI): A second earthquake of magnitude 3.7 jolted Tibet on Sunday, a statement by the National Center for...
Tibet, May 18 (ANI): An earthquake of magnitude 3.8 jolted Tibet on Sunday, a statement by the National Center for Seismology (NCS)...
(Photo credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images) NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. -- Brad Keselowski checked the second box on Saturday. Having...