News / Sports
NBA Suspends Joey Crawford after Referee Challenges Tim Duncan to a Fight
NBA commissioner David Stern suspended referee Joey Crawford indefinitely on Tuesday, days after the 29-year veteran official ejected San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan and challenged the All-Star to a fight.
According to Duncan, he was sitting on the bench laughing with a teammate about a foul when Crawford issued a second technical to the seven-footer resulting in an ejection. Duncan says that Crawford stared him down and challenged “Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?”
While Stern did not address the allegation made by Duncan directly he did suspend Crawford because he “failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees.”
The suspension will last through the NBA finals and could carry over longer if the commissioner feels it is warranted.
