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NBA players and referees don’t always get along, but most of the time they are civil towards each other. According to Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie, he did not receive such grace from veteran official Tony Brothers.
In a game between the Mavericks and the Toronto Raptors this past Friday, Dinwiddie alleges that he was disrespected by Brothers, who was one of the officials for the game. Dinwiddie was whistled for a technical foul by the Brothers at the end of the second quarter of the game. This came after Dinwiddie approached him to dispute a foul call.
The Mavericks guard claims that he was called a few names by Brothers. Now, according to Dinwiddie, the words were not said directly to him but to one of his teammates about him.
"I would like to not be called a 'bitch a** motherf**ker to my teammates" - Spencer Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie did apologize in his post-game pressor for any misunderstanding between the two but preferred that he not be addressed in such a way. The game still went in favor of the Mavericks and the alleged controversy did not affect Dinwiddie from having a good game.
Spencer was the second-leading scorer for the Mavericks that evening with 21 points and also contributed 7 assists to the team's one-point win over the Raptors.
NBA Players who had Issues with Referees
NBA players and referees have had issues in the past. Sometimes it affects how the game is officiated. As of now, nothing has been said officially, but the statistics are hard to ignore.
Chris Paul vs Scott Foster
Veteran NBA point guard Chris Paul does get along with referee Scott Foster. Paul has been a vocal critic of Foster’s officiating and there are stats to support that there might be an issue. The issue between the two men goes back to Paul’s first time in the playoffs playing for the New Orleans Hornets. Paul’s Hornets lost a game 7 to the San Antonio Spurs that was officiated by Foster. Paul is currently on a losing streak in the playoffs in games where Foster is on the referee crew.
Allen Iverson vs Steve Javey
Allen Iverson, one of best guards to ever play in the NBA had an issue with referee Steve Javie. After a game when Iverson played for the Denver Nuggets, he was fined $25,000 for criticizing Javie’s officiating. Javie ejected Iverson in that game after he received his second technical foul.
Their rivalry was mentioned in a recent Netflix documentary about disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy. Donaghy detailed how he bet against Iverson’s team and won because he knew Javie had it in for Iverson. Javie even acknowledged that he and Iverson had an issue with each other.
“something personal with me and him [Iverson] since I got in the league.” - Steve Javie
There have been small instances between players and refs show maybe there is a little tension between the two parties. Whether it is Tim Duncan being ejected for laughing by Joey Crawford or Rasheed Wallace being ejected for looking at Ron Garretson these issues can have an impact on the game. Both of the previously stated instances were during NBA Playoff games with important players. There is an interesting power dynamic between the referees and the players.
Guess the Lakers players!
