Joey Crawford Suspended Indefinitely

TakeIt2DaBank · Apr 17, 2007

The NBA suspended referee Joey Crawford indefinitely on Tuesday after he ejected Tim Duncan on Sunday in the Spurs' game against the Mavericks.

Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images
Tim Duncan got tossed from Sunday's game for laughing on the bench.

Crawford's suspension will at least cover the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.
"Joey Crawford's handling of this situation failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "Especially in light of similar prior acts by this official, a significant suspension is warranted. Although Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees, he must be held accountable for his actions on the floor, and we will have further discussions with him following the season to be sure he understands his responsibilities."
Crawford hit Duncan with two technical fouls just 1:16 apart late in the third quarter of San Antonio's 91-86 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. The second came while Duncan was laughing on the bench and meant an automatic ejection, just the second of his nine-year career.
"He looked at me and said, 'Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?' " Duncan said. "If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don't have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, 'Do you want to fight?' "

Brock Landers · Apr 17, 2007

Good, that fucko can refund my Spurs bet too, because he fixed the outcome with his horseshit

Journeyman · Apr 17, 2007

Some of the NBA refs have a chip , good to see the NBA making a stand...I would love to hear Crawford's side of this.

Seymour · Apr 17, 2007

What an idiot Crawford is - after Jordan, Duncan is Stern's favorite player - he is universally accepted as the best PF ever to play, he embodies everything that a team player is, he is a coaches wet dream and his reputation is impecable - Crawford should never ref again.

FatTony · Apr 17, 2007

Didn't HBO Real Sports have an interview with him and his brother who is a baseball ump? Guess he's got an ego as a result.

I want my money back also on San Antonio.

earl · Apr 17, 2007

good move nba office.

whormoan · Apr 17, 2007

Definitely deserved. Stern needed to put these ego-maniac refs back in their place which is to manage the game, not determine it

RobFunk · Apr 17, 2007

Kudos move by the NBA.

He shouldnt have been a ref as of 5 years ago.

He's screwed me out of a ton of games with his B.S.

THEPOSTMAN! · Apr 17, 2007

Kudos to Stern, the refs are getting as big headed as the players. Just call the f'cking game.

:aktion033

RobFunk · Apr 17, 2007

THE POSTMAN! said:
Kudos to Stern, the refs are getting as big headed as the players. Just call the f'cking game.

:aktion033

Exactly. And the race between Beveta and Barkley during all star weekend was ill-concieved and not at all good for the game. It gives the impression that refs can achieve some type of celebrity status. Yeah, I watched it and thought it was funny like anyone else. But I never thought it was a good idea.

We have no knowledge of who the officials are until the game has went in most cases so why should they be be able to reach some type of household name fame?

LarryTalbot · Apr 17, 2007

Now, just get rid of Violet Palmer, Steve Javie, Bavetta, and Corbin and we're in business. Too many poor referees in this league.

WVU · Apr 17, 2007

Duncan must have said something prior to the second technical to set Crawford off. It was probably a communication blunder. I always thought Crawford was a good ref. I have no problem with a ref throwing out technicals if players are complaining or showing up the refs. They do not have an easy job and are ringing up fouls and technicals against guys who are 125 pounds heavier and 12 inches bigger.

If this was someone other than Duncan then the ref would not have received near the backlash and certainly would not have been suspended indefinately. This guy has a family to feed just like everyone else.

THEPOSTMAN! · Apr 17, 2007

WVU said:
If this was someone other than Duncan then the ref would not have received near the backlash and certainly would not have been suspended indefinately. This guy has a family to feed just like everyone else.

If this was someone other than Duncan, then they would not have been thrown out for laughing on the bench. I have been watching the NBA for 30 something years and have never seen that happen.

TonyMar · Apr 17, 2007

Does the NBA allow the referees to speak with the press?

crunch99 · Apr 17, 2007

I find this a joke. Wasn't it Stern who insitituted the "no tolerance" policy? Then he goes and caters to the mob because it was the "gentle giant" Duncan and not "motor mouth" Rasheed.

Anyone who saw the episode (and didn't have a bet on Spurs) saw that the techs were warranted. He was bitching on the bench about his charging call (his mouth was moving) then kept egging him on by laughing at the foul calls he was calling. What a low class jackass Duncan is.

Spurs are the whiniest team in the league. They think they never foul the way they cry, bitch and moan. Hope Joey is back to ref their games because we need strong refs that doesn't show favoritism towards superstars. And isn't afraid to eject them for being lowclass jackasses.

WVU · Apr 17, 2007

crunch99 said:
I find this a joke. Wasn't it Stern who insitituted the "no tolerance" policy? Then he goes and caters to the mob because it was the "gentle giant" Duncan and not "motor mouth" Rasheed.

Anyone who saw the episode (and didn't have a bet on Spurs) saw that the techs were warranted. He was bitching on the bench about his charging call (his mouth was moving) then kept egging him on by laughing at the foul calls he was calling. What a low class jackass Duncan is.

Spurs are the whiniest team in the league. They think they never foul the way they cry, bitch and moan. Hope Joey is back to ref their games because we need strong refs that doesn't show favoritism towards superstars. And isn't afraid to eject them for being lowclass jackasses.

I agree completely. We did not get to see what triggered the ref's reaction. Watching the game, I would say he had reasonable grounds to issue another technical

kid44 · Apr 17, 2007

crunch99 said:
I find this a joke. Wasn't it Stern who insitituted the "no tolerance" policy? Then he goes and caters to the mob because it was the "gentle giant" Duncan and not "motor mouth" Rasheed.

Anyone who saw the episode (and didn't have a bet on Spurs) saw that the techs were warranted. He was bitching on the bench about his charging call (his mouth was moving) then kept egging him on by laughing at the foul calls he was calling. What a low class jackass Duncan is.

Spurs are the whiniest team in the league. They think they never foul the way they cry, bitch and moan. Hope Joey is back to ref their games because we need strong refs that doesn't show favoritism towards superstars. And isn't afraid to eject them for being lowclass jackasses.

I agree to a point. Crawford has shown that he thinks he is above the game many times. Berated my bud who is the time keeper for the Bucks for NO reason at all. Crawford thought he had one but in the end my bud did nothing wrong. No apology or nothing. Good ridance.

WVU · Apr 17, 2007

kid44 said:
I agree to a point. Crawford has shown that he thinks he is above the game many times. Berated my bud who is the time keeper for the Bucks for NO reason at all. Crawford thought he had one but in the end my bud did nothing wrong. No apology or nothing. Good ridance.

he is above the game. He is in charge of policing it while it is being played.

LarryTalbot · Apr 17, 2007

Joe Crawford is exhibit A for a trait that referees shouldn't have: arrogance. He loves to have the game decided on his calls and that is why they normally take 3+ hours to complete. Everything is called and he doesn't let players voice their arguments (even polite ones). Good riddance with him even though his ego fit in nicely with the players in that league.

Spurs are the whiniest? I find that pretty interesting to say that when they played against a team whose owner would stroll on the court from time to time to let his voice be heard. Mavs are by far the biggest complainers. I almost felt like last year's officiating in the finals was retribution for it.

crunch99 · Apr 17, 2007

The rest of the story....

"The NBA also fined Duncan $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official. Crawford said Duncan referred to him with an expletive.

Crawford was the first referee suspended since Rodney Mott was banned three games on Jan. 12 for making an obscene gesture toward a fan and also using inappropriate language in Portland.

Crawford comes from an officiating family. His brother, Jerry, is a major league umpire, as was his father, Shag.

Joey Crawford is in his 29th season as an NBA referee. He has officiated more than 2,000 games during the regular season and 252 in the playoffs, including 36 in the NBA Finals.

But his temper has gotten him noticed before, especially in Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference finals, a matchup involving the same teams as in Sunday's game. Crawford called four technical fouls in the first 10-plus minutes, leading to ejections of then-Mavs coach Don Nelson and assistant Del Harris.

Crawford also called a technical in a recent game against Duncan, who said Sunday that Crawford has a "personal vendetta against me."

Duncan was called for his first technical foul Sunday with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter for arguing about an offensive foul. Crawford hit him with the second technical 1:16 later after Duncan was on the bench laughing about a call that went against the Spurs.

With Duncan gone, the Mavericks rallied to beat the Spurs, ending San Antonio's chance of earning the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference."