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Last season, NBA referee Eric Lewis found himself embroiled in a social media controversy. The gameday official was accused of using a burner account on Twitter to clap back at fans, players, and the media who criticized referees' decisions.
The Twitter account often defended Lewis, whom many fans had begun to accuse of bias. On Wednesday, August 30, the NBA announced Lewis' unprecedented retirement decision.
The NBA's announcement elicited some hilarious comments and reactions from fans around the world.
One of Lewis' most high-profile calls was when he called LeBron James for a foul during the dying moments of a game against the Boston Celtics, leading to an enormous tantrum from the Lakers superstar.
The NBA is closing their investigation into Eric Lewis
With his retirement, the NBA will be closing its investigation into Eric Lewis' use of social media. The investigation was set up to determine whether Lewis had broken any rules or if he was even behind the Twitter account with the username 'Blair Cuttliff.'
Lewis denied being behind the account and noted that his brother may have been the one using the social media profile. However, with such a hasty retirement, NBA fans will likely take Lewis' decision to step away from the league as an admission of guilt, even though they have no proof and will likely never obtain any.
The question remains whether Lewis broke any league-wide rules, assuming he was the one behind the Twitter account.
Incidentally, all the followers were curious about the reasoning behind the decisions and how they came to their conclusions. There was no hint of bias, although the account was contentious with other users, whom the league will view as their consumers.
Lewis will now be on the lookout for a new job, but he will likely find another gig as a game official for a professional league difficult to come by. NBA fans and players will continue to mock the former referee for the foreseeable future, especially the next time the Lakers and Celtics face off against each other.
