Referee Eric Lewis won't work NBA Finals while league looks into tweets

DENVER (AP) —Eric Lewis was not selected as one of the 12 referees who will workthe NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, while theleague continues to look into whether he used a Twitter account todefend himself and other officials from online critiques.

Lewis hadbeen chosen to work the finals in each of the last four seasons.This year’s finals referees were announced by the league Thursdaymorning, about 12 hours before the start of the title series.

After somenow-deleted tweets were revealed by a pair of Twitter users lastweek, the league opened an investigation into whether Lewisviolated NBA rules by speaking about officiating in an unauthorizedmanner. It has not been determined if Lewis was using the account,which utilizes the name “blair cuttliff.” The account wasdeactivated briefly last week but was active again Wednesdayevening.

“RegardingEric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to reviewthe matter and he will not be working the finals,” NBA spokesmanMike Bass said Thursday.

The leaguehas not revealed a timetable for the completion of its probe intowhether Lewis used the Twitter account. It also remains unknownwhat discipline from the league that Lewis could face if he brokepolicy by discussing officiating matters openly withoutapproval.

Of the 12referees picked for the Nuggets-Heat matchup, nine worked the titleseries last season. Scott Foster will be a finals referee for the16th year, while Tony Brothers and Marc Davis were picked for a12th time. Zach Zarba is now a 10-time selection, John Goble waspicked for the seventh time, David Guthrie for the sixth time, JoshTiven for the fourth and Courtney Kirkland and James Williams arenow three-time selections.

Returning tothe referee lineup for the finals are Ed Malloy, now an eight-timepick, and Bill Kennedy — picked for the fifth time. The onlyfirst-time selection this year is Kevin Scott, who began workingNBA games in the 2010-11 season.

Tyler Fordand Ben Taylor have been assigned as finals alternates. Foster hasofficiated 23 NBA Finals games, followed by Davis (18) and Brothers(15).

“The pinnaclefor an NBA official is to work the NBA Finals,” said Byron Spruell,the league’s president of basketball operations.

Davis,Guthrie and Malloy will work Game 1 of the series Thursday night,the league said. Typically, the 12 referees each get to work one ofthe first four games of the series.

BesidesLewis, the other referees who worked the 2022 finals but aren’tworking them this year are Kane Fitzgerald — who left on-court workafter last season and took over in September as the league’s VicePresident of Referee Operations and Replay Center Principal — andJames Capers, who is injured.

Lewis hasworked more than 1,200 games, counting both regular season andplayoffs, in 19 seasons as an NBA referee. He last worked on May16, when Denver played host to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 ofthe Western Conference finals. The reports of the tweets came outabout a week later.