Earlier this year, NBA ref Eric Lewis was caught up in a bizarre scandal. Lewis, a veteran official of the league, was found to be maintaining an anonymous Twitter account which he used to defend himself against online criticism. The original story was full of bizarre twists. For example, internet sleuths were able to work out that it was Lewis behind the account as one of the five accounts the burner followed was the college team his wife coached.
After the news broke, he briefly tried to claim it was actually his brother running the account. However, the NBA decided to launch an investigation. Furthermore, Lewis was not named to the 2023 Finals officiating team, ending a four-year streak of working the series. However, that investigation has now come to an end as on August 30, Lewis announced that he was retiring from his NBA duties. In response, the league announced that it was closing its investigation into his social media usage. Lewis' last game in the NBA was Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
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Eric Lewis Retires
Lewis officiated over 1200 NBA games over an 18-year career with the organization. Prior to serving with the NBA, he had worked with the developmental G League. Furthermore, he had also worked with the USBL, and NCAA. Additionally, he began his career as a high school ref in his home state of Florida. He attended Bethune-Cookman University, where he met his wife. A crucial clue to uncovering his burner, Vanessa Blair-Lewis currently serves as the head coach of the women's basketball program at George Mason.
The story of Eric Lewis' downfall is one of the more unusual stories of the year. However, it makes one wonder just who is lurking behind those anonymous accounts on websites like X and Reddit. After all, this story just goes to show that it could be a fan with time to kill or a consummate professional with a desperate need to defend themselves online. The 2023-24 NBA season kicks off in October with a marquee slate of opening week games to enjoy.
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