Due to a league investigation into Eric Lewis’ social media conduct, he was unable to officiate the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. Lewis informed the league of his retirement, but the NBA declared on Wednesday that the probe is now over. According to the National Basketball Referees Association, Lewis has worked as an NBA official for the previous 19 seasons. He had been selected to oversee matches at the NBA Finals in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Throughout his career, he has worked more than 1,200 NBA games, including the regular season and the playoffs. Scroll down to read more details about NBA referee Eric Lewis retires.
NBA referee Eric Lewis retires
NBA referee Eric Lewis has announced his immediate retirement following a league inquiry into whether he utilized a former Twitter account to shield himself and other officials from online criticism. The league announced his resignation on Wednesday. Less than three months after launching an inquiry into whether the 19-year NBA referee had broken league rules by discussing officiating in the public without official permission.
The NBA said that its investigation into the social media conduct has been concluded as a result of his retirement. Following the probe, the 52-year-old Lewis, who has officiated the previous four NBA Finals, was not selected as one of the 12 referees for this year’s championship game between Denver and Miami.
The now-deleted tweets that were the subject of the social media scandal were discovered by two social media users in May. The Twitter account that is now known as X went under the name “Blair Cuttliff.” Lewis might have been punished for breaking the league’s rule against discussing officiating matters in public without permission if the league found the account to be his.
Veteran basketball journalist Marc Stein initially revealed the NBA’s probe into Lewis in May. The account had no followers even after eight years. Numerous fan bases have accused Lewis of favoring the Celtics.
For almost 20 years, Lewis worked as an NBA official. This past season, he was assigned to many playoff games, including the Eastern Conference semifinal Game 7 victory by the Celtics against the Sixers. Because the inquiry remained continuing, Lewis was not chosen to serve as an official for the NBA Finals.
Lewis worked more than 1,200 games in his 19 seasons, including both regular-season and postseason contests. When Denver hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on May 16, he had his last shift. About a week after the tweets were sent, rumors of them surfaced.
