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An NBA referee is catching heat online for his actions in Tuesday night’s Clippers-Thunder game. The official wound up handing out three technical fouls in a matter of 30 seconds, culminating with the ejection of one player.
Many on social media are now bashing the referee for his short fuse and unnecessary influence on the game.
The controversy came after Clippers star Kawhi Leonard questioned a missed call on a layup. The forward believed he’d been fouled on the shot attempt, which replay confirmed to be true.
A whistle never blew, though, and Leonard let the official hear his frustration.
Shortly thereafter, the NBA referee T’d Leonard up for what he deemed disrespectful. That’s when teammate Terrance Mann came to his defense.
He, too, began letting the official know about his displeasure with the call, which quickly landed him a pair of technical fouls and an ejection.
Take a look at the full sequence of events.
Kawhi gets a tech, Terance Mann gets two and the ejection 😳 pic.twitter.com/tlfSHS3TTH
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 22, 2023
Fans were quick to bash the officiating, believing that the referee was inserting himself into the game unnecessarily.
Refs. pic.twitter.com/Ch4sDELDiH
— 🏆 (@Knicktopia) March 22, 2023
How that ref felt after handing out 3 techs and an ejection pic.twitter.com/FrRL9Cb7zO
— Ricky Chu (@RikDaddy) March 22, 2023
One person wrote, “Another NBA referee on a power trip,” while another asked, “Why do refs keep making things about themselves?”
When all was said and done, the Clippers lost by a point, 101-100. Who knows if the result would’ve been different had this referee kept his composure.