NBA referee Bill Spooner has filed a defamation suit against an Associated Press reporter who tweeted that the referee promised to give points to Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis after a bad call, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported.
Spooner, who told the Business Journal he has refereed “honestly” in his 22-year NBA career, said he was investigated by the league after reporter Jon Krawczynski posted a Twitter message during Minnesota’s home game Jan. 24 against the Houston Rockets.
The suit states that the ref called a T-Wolves player for a second-quarter foul, causing Rambis to complain vehemently. Spooner said he promised to review the call at halftime, then said Rambis asked him how he would get the points back.
Spooner said he didn’t respond to Rambis, but Krawczynski’s Twitter message said: “Ref Bill Spooner told Rambis he’d ‘get it back’ after a bad call. Then he made an even worse call on Rockets. That’s NBA officiating folks.”
The suit, filed in Minneapolis’ U.S. District Court on Monday, calls that Twitter message a defamatory accusation of game fixing. Through the suit, Spooner seeks more than $75,000 in damages, the message to be unpublished and the statement to be retracted.
An AP spokesman told the Business Journal the news organization has not been served with the lawsuit. The spokesman declined to comment otherwise.
Spooner, who told the Business Journal he has refereed “honestly” in his 22-year NBA career, said he was investigated by the league after reporter Jon Krawczynski posted a Twitter message during Minnesota’s home game Jan. 24 against the Houston Rockets.
The suit states that the ref called a T-Wolves player for a second-quarter foul, causing Rambis to complain vehemently. Spooner said he promised to review the call at halftime, then said Rambis asked him how he would get the points back.
Spooner said he didn’t respond to Rambis, but Krawczynski’s Twitter message said: “Ref Bill Spooner told Rambis he’d ‘get it back’ after a bad call. Then he made an even worse call on Rockets. That’s NBA officiating folks.”
The suit, filed in Minneapolis’ U.S. District Court on Monday, calls that Twitter message a defamatory accusation of game fixing. Through the suit, Spooner seeks more than $75,000 in damages, the message to be unpublished and the statement to be retracted.
An AP spokesman told the Business Journal the news organization has not been served with the lawsuit. The spokesman declined to comment otherwise.
