NBA Opens Investigation Into Referee Eric Lewis, LeBron James Reacts

BYCole BlakePublished on May 29, 202310.0K Views

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a call by referee Eric Lewis during the first half of a game against the New York Knicks at Staples Center on January 07, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

LeBron James reacted on Twitter as the NBA opened an official investigation into referee Eric Lewis.

The NBA has opened an investigation into longtime referee Eric Lewis regarding a Twitter account that is believed to be his burner. The account, @CuttliffBlair, has since been deleted. It had responded to numerous posts on officiating and defended Lewis amongst other NBA referees. The NBA forbids referees to comment on officiating publicly without authorization.

During his 19-year tenure with the NBA, Lewis has officiated 1,100 games. His career has reached an uptick in recent years, having refereed six Finals games since 2019. He was most recently on the floor for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers on May 16.

Eric Lewis Argues With Tim Frazier

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 10: Tim Frazier #12 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts to a call by referee Eric Lewis in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Fiserv Forum on April 10, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

When the NBA began the investigation, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James reacted on Twitter. "This Eric Lewis [poop emoji] true???" he wrote in a tweet. Plenty of James' fans theorized about the referees having a bias against the Lakers in his replies. One wrote: "Unfortunately man, what’s worse is these disgusting biased officials show their disdain for our Lakers." Check out LeBron's tweet on the matter below.

Eric Lewis' alleged burner account was originally exposed by fans on Twitter, last week. User @PabloEscoburner compiled a list of examples of tweets the account posted discussing the officiating of Lewis.

LeBron James Reacts

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers went on to lose in the most recent game that Lewis was on the floor for. The team eventually was swept by the Nuggets and James admitted that he will be considering retirement in the offseason, but has yet to come to a decision. The Denver Nuggets will take on the winner of Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. That game will tip off on Monday night.

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About The Author

Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.