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NBA Suspends Referee Joey Crawford Indefinitely

hosted.ap.org — NBA referee Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely by commissioner David Stern on Tuesday for his conduct toward Tim Duncan, who contends the official challenged him to a fight.

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  • Depthfunction, on 10/12/2007, -9/+29Good.
    • thetanbark, on 10/12/2007, -2/+48Here's the video footage if you don't know what this is about.

      Tim Duncan Ejected: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGeNWwBN5bQ
      Tim Duncan's Post-Game Reaction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B4smT43bMU
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -16/+7I agree the suspension is warranted. On the other hand, Crawford is probably the best ref in the league, and he will be sorely missed during important games in the playoffs and finals.
    • AnotherThought, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7time to rock those anger management sessions
    • kushed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25Good ref doesn't get personal with players, therefor I would not trust him during playoff/critical games. He has a vendetta against a player(s), he will never be seen as neutral.
    • swimmingbird67, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10i'm glad. duncan didn't deserve to get one tech, nonetheless get thrown out.
    • ubunturd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Saw this coming. Crawford seemed really unstable during that game.

      You can toss a student for laughing during algebra class but not an NBA player for laughing during a game.
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -15/+18I am once again amused by the mob mentality of Digg. I agreed that Crawford should be suspended, but pointed out that his veteran leadership would be missed during the Playoffs and Finals. I thought this was a pretty reasonable statement. But the mob wants blood, and since I mentioned that Crawford is generally considered to be a good ref, I've been buried into the ground.

      The people burying me, probably do not watch basketball or maybe do not understand Crawford's reputation beyond the few times he has lost his temper. Crawford is in his 29th season as an NBA referee. He has officiated more than 2,000 games during the regular season and 252 in the playoffs, including 36 in the NBA finals more than any other active ref. He is simply the best referee in the league.

      Again, that does not excuse his behavior, and he deserved to be suspended.

      Here are some quotes from other people about Crawford:

      "Joey Crawford has gained a reputation as one of the finest officials in the game. He knows what he’s doing. He’s good at his job." -- MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18157780/page/2/

      "Despite his short temper on the court, Crawford is considered one of the premier officials in the NBA. He has worked more playoff and NBA Finals games than any other active referee in the league and has appeared in the Finals every year since 1986, but will not appear in the 2007 NBA Playoffs." -- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Crawford

      "Although Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees, he must be held accountable for his actions on the floor" -- NBA Commissioner David Stern, announcing Crawford's suspension.

      Stern sums up my view completely. I agree that he needs to be suspended, but that does not change the fact that he is the most experienced and consistent ref in the league.
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6@kushed: He's reffed more playoff games than anyone. Generally, teams are happy to get him, because he is seen as a very competent official. He makes the right call more often than any other official in the league.
    • ubunturd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11@hipnerd

      He may be a veteran, but he's still unstable.

      Crawford isn't exactly the guy you want officiating the NBA Finals if he's going to call technical fouls for laughing.
    • 10scott10, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@ hipnerd
      crawford not only ejected him, but also said to duncan "do you want to fight me" during the game prior to the ejection. that is no way for a ref to talk. the thing i like is that the NBA is making this public about the suspension
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3@ubunturd: Crawford has reffed more Finals games than anyone. The league consistently has given him that honor because he makes the right call and avoids controversy. He has always gotten high marks for fairness and accuracy. The incident with Duncan is not representative of a normal game reffed by Crawford.

      @10scott10: What part of "I agree he should be suspended" did you not understand?
    • grammalvsu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8LYNCH HIPNERD!
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Heh.
    • ubunturd, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0HIPNERD RIMS ME.
  • fober, on 10/12/2007, -1/+51I can see it now:

    2008 NBA All-Star Game Festivities:

    Rookie Challenge
    Celebrity All-Star Game
    Shooting Stars Competition
    Skills Challenge
    Three Point Shootout
    Slam Dunk Contest
    Crawford vs. Duncan (12 Rounds)
    • canewediggit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11maybe they could do relay races- barkley and duncan vs joey and bavetta.

      crossing my fingers that they find an excuse to toss steve javey.
    • Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1612 Rounds? All you need are 12 seconds, Duncan is huge.
    • OMGWTFROFLMAOx2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4My money is on Big Fundamentals (as Shaq calls him). Seriously, watching the clip of the game was like watching Billy Crystal in Forget Paris.
    • mlvassallo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1By Shaq you mean Jim Rome, right?
    • aznxjz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Don't leave Stephen A Smith out of the fun. There's gotta be some kind of "Who's Louder" contest that he'll win.
    • Suplyndmnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@omgwtfroflmaox2

      Holy ***** I was thinking the same thing. Watching that I was waiting for like 15 ejections and a bird being stuck to his wife's head lol.

      Simply put, the guy might be the best ref there is in the NBA and he may have impressive credentials. But what he did was just stupid. I think he had a beef with him and wanted to show him who was boss and had it set in his mind before the game, he was going to toss Duncan. In his mind he was saying "I'll show this ***** who makes the calls". They had to escort Duncan out by police? The guy definitely should be suspended for the rest of the season and given a vacation and time to think about wether he wants to keep his job or show the millionaires who really runs the show.
  • borninda818, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16he's not a bad guy but that Duncan thing scarred his reputation for life. Sucks to end such a long career like that.
    • pooper, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17What are you talking about? Crawford has a LONG history of handing out technicals over very little, and he has issues with his anger... its on Wikipedia, so it HAS to be true...
    • threemagic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4he's not a bad guy? if you read the article he was suspended for repeated offenses, not just this one.

      his job is hard and stressful and he's never given enough credit but that, in no way, justifies taking it out on a player.
    • MercifulCobra, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Stressful? So what? My job is stressful every day, but you never see me challenging my clients to a fight. (Although the thought crossed my mind.)
    • mooninite, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1Unfortunately everyone commenting hasn't watched the game or watched Duncan for his typical behavior. I watched the game and was clapping all the way when it happened.

      Duncan is a whiner and a bully. Crawford finally stood up to him and had enough of it. Duncan is always the "super star" or the one that can "never" commit a foul. He got off with a low dollar fine.

      Stern is an ass for what he did. It helped the Mavericks so he had to do something about it.
  • johnnynapalm, on 10/12/2007, -12/+0Listening to Stern on the Dan Patrick show this afternoon, it sounded like Crawford is out the remainder of the regular season + playoffs. That doesn't equal "indefinitely".
    • jessejoedotcom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Do you know what that word means? http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/indefinitely
    • grobinson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yea the Ref is only missing like one game of the regular season - he is really only missing the playoffs. And they suspended him from the playoffs so that he wouldn't have to ref a Spurs game in the playoffs.

      By the time the first round of the playoffs have started this story will be forgotten. If he was stilling reffing in the playoffs this story would never go away.
    • anonymous6237, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2RTA...
      "His suspension will last at least through the NBA finals, and he apparently will have to meet with Stern after that to discuss reinstatement."
      Sounds indefinite to me. It is an indefinite suspension that will be revisited after the playoffs.
  • quacker912, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2YOU WANNA FIGHT?!
  • spidoman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Glad to hear it, but any other player + this situation = Referee wins.
  • TigerX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The PTI guys yapped about it today at the top of the broadcast... Check it out when it hits their podcast later tonight.

    ESPN Podcenter:
    http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/index
  • ZeroMP, on 10/12/2007, -50/+1Tim Duncan is a little bitch-boy - screw him.

    • BenFaist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+37@zeromp: Obviously you aren't a basketball fan because anyone who knows who Tim Duncan knows that he is probably the most soft spoken player in the league...if anything, he is boring...
    • indraneel24, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17that "little bitch-boy" is 6 foot 11 inches, 260 pounds and makes around 16 million dollars a year.

      i wouldn't screw with him if i were you.
    • leodavinci, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Duncan is what more NBA players should be. He let's his game do the talking.

      I was back by the players cars/bus area in Staples center when they were playing the Clippers and Tim was holding his daughter. He seems like a very balanced guy, knows that his family needs to come first.

      I dunno, I guess I just really like him.
    • FlaG8r, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4You guys don't know what you're talking about. Tim Duncan is a very well-known and prolific whiner. That is his rep in the league. That doesn't mean Crawford was in the right, but don't act like Duncan's an angel whose poop doesn't smell.
    • Klainmeister, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I'd be willing to bet his poop doesn't smell. Probably bank-shots them in though. -_-
    • ZeRux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Duncan was always among the nicest guys in the NBA - he didn't deserve to be talked like that.
    • ubunturd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Duncan may be a nice guy but he's boring as *****. Especially in interviews. He's the NBA's equivalent of celery.
  • j4son, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9"He looked at me and said, 'Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?'" Duncan said. "If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don't have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, 'Do you want to fight?'"

    I'm 100% sure that statement is 100% true.
  • FattJesus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Challenged him to a fight? Is this ref ever delusional...
  • TexicanJake, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11Go Spurs Go!
    • ubunturd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Sorry but the Suns or Mavs will send the Spurs home in the Western Conference finals.
    • kushed, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Go LAKERS
  • Kalibr, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1A quote from article "His suspension will last at least through the NBA finals" Did the poster even read the article? or just not care. Buried for inaccurate title.
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"At least through" the Finals, means that it could be longer -- in other words, "indefinitely."
  • jmoh, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Haha I was watching the game, and ironically the anouncer was talking about how "respected" and good a reff Crawford was. Too bad he made a ***** call, and is an even more ***** reff.
  • Dhalsim007, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Damn! What ever happened to the NBA's edict to refs to "get tough" with the players? Challenging them to a fight is about as tough as you can be! Seriously, this ref is one of the best in the league, with a long quality history. I hope the NBA reconsiders, and that they have him and Duncan do a sit-down and work out any issues, and get this behind them and the league.
  • jmoh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Btw with Duncan out, The Mavs were able to beat us. They made like a 14-2 run in the 4th quarter when duncan was out, when duncan was playing we were up by as many as 8 only seconds before...
    • ubunturd, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0Somebody call the waaaahbulance.
    • Trigonometron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Mavs have killed the Spurs this year, though that game was close.

      There are tons of games where a bad call seems to impact the outcome but everyone on the team has to be ready for any eventuality.

      Mavs vs Spurs in last year's finals was some incredible basketball, and both teams had games where star players fouled out. Mavs were able to win that series, but could've gone either way.



  • sphigel, on 10/12/2007, -14/+0This is *****! It would take a hell of a lot more for an NBA player to get suspended for that length. Why the double standard?
    • threemagic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8because, as the article explains, it's for REPEATED offenses
    • Suplyndmnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why in blue blazes would he read the article? It's much easier to make a quip about how players are treated like royalty than it would be to read the article and form an opinion himself. Thanks to digg, we no longer need to do that. We just read the front page and that's our beliefs for the day. All pray to Digg orz orz orz orz orz orz
  • makmenace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4duncan is one of the nicest guys in professional sports. the man never looses his cool in a game and always has that quiet and soft demeanor. i wonder if crawford would have acted differently if it were artest, rasheed wallace, big ben, jermaine o'neal, or stephen jackson on the bench. i bet he would.
    • PikkonX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree. I was shocked when he called the technical just for laughing, but it's good to see there were consequences for the ref's actions that probably costs them the game.
    • threemagic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2everyone you named was in the piston/indy brawl.. interesting
    • Anagrama, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6I'm not defending Crawford or disputing the fact that Duncan is a huge talent on the court... but have you unbiasedly watched a game with him? He does the "poor me" act after every call, elbows with the best of them (as most players do), argues EVERY call that doesn't go his way, intimidates the refs into not calling fouls on him, and generally gets away with almost anything he wants because of who he his.

      That said, he is a joy to watch fundamentally, I just don't care for his theatrics.
    • Trigonometron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Being a total Crybaby is just Duncan's M.O. Other players flop around, some punch family jewels--Duncan whines.
  • bitmanx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Good to see they didn't wait around long to take action, Crawford deserves to get suspended which sends a clear message ref's..
  • grobinson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2840587

    Duncan was fined $25,000
    • markajanssen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That was for cussing the crowd if I remember correctly...

      After all, he is soft-spoken... o.O
  • cookui, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3His dad's name is Shag? Did i read that wrong? No wonder he has anger problems...
  • jwvelez, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2yay! Saratogian.com! that's where I always go to read my sports news.
    • ohvee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well, this is just an Associated Press article, not anything written by any of the staff at The Saratogian.
      The Saratogian is probably the worst paper for original material in the area. Usually most of the local stories have numerous errors (this isn't hyperbole, either).
  • aldomatic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I was at that game, and thought it was strange to get a technical twice on bench for dumb reason.
  • vertigorider, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13i've watched the nba for 20+ years and can NEVER recall a player receiving 2 Ts on the bench. I'll bet Crawford will be "retiring" this year, just like Jake O'Donnell did many years back after his vendetta against Clyde Drexler.
  • polyGone, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1The NBA officials have way to much power.
  • Doc1976Brown, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Haaaaaaa....."Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?'"
  • jimripper, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Duncan was fined $25,000 for his verbal conduct after he was ejected.

    http://www.nba.com/news/duncan_070417.html
  • david31, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Stern said Crawford "probably doesn't wish to work in the NBA anymore" on PTI.
  • mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Well, I'm glad this got posted.. even though I posted the actual NBA press release 5 hours ago. :( Oh well, I guess that's how it happens sometimes. I probably should've used the word "indefinitely" in the title.

    http://digg.com/basketball/NBA_Referee_Joey_Crawford_Suspended

    Ok, I'm done bitching now. ;)
  • slaystench, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That was total BS what happened to Duncan, I'm not a fan of him but he clearly didn't say a word and was only laughing.

    They're all going to laugh at you!
  • ratbear, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Tim Duncan is known to fans of the game as one of the whiniest players in the NBA. His sense of superstar-entitlement is off the charts. Everytime there is even the slightest contact down low his face gets all crinkled up and he throws an accusing glance at the ref. I have money on him acting like a whiny little bitch to Crawford behind his back throughout the entire game.
    • mlvassallo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I'm a fan of the game and I know Tim Duncan as one of the most athletic and tenacious players to step on the court.

      Wait a sec, Mark Cuban- is that you?
  • Marking, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2About time
  • KuntaKinte, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2the lion finally killed a zebra
  • jeff1to1618, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2When I was in high school, this substitute jockhead teacher kicked me out because I wasnt sitting up straight. I feel you, Duncan.
  • mustafya, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I might get dugg down I don't know... but isn't this sort of out of proportion to the activities that the players themselves take part in on and off the court? I agree Crawford should have been disciplined and suspended. But we have players do much worse and get much lighter suspensions. The NFL has finally started taking a step in the right direction with their recent suspension of pacman jones and his buddy.
  • vand3537, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3damn, i was really hoping he would just be banned from spurs games.

    @mustafa
    the difference between the players and the reffs is that the fans are there to see the players, and the outcome of the game is supposed to be determined by the players in NBA basketball. refs are doing thier jobs well when people don't realize they exist. which is the opposite of how crawford approaches his job
  • 7Mystery, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0It’s about time these refs faced some justice. Man, that was the most ridiculous call of the week. Duncan, as quite as he is, should never even get ejected from a game.
  • kermithefrog, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1can someone please explain the vendetta he had against duncan? besides the fact that tim has many homosexual characteristics and is also a Mormon, what could they guy had against him?!
  • R3Dirkulous, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2If it had been anybody but duncan (rasheed wallace, eddie najera, raja bell) who was laughing and mocking crawford everyone would be patting crawfords back, but because its Tim Duncan he gets special treatment. Tim Duncan is a whiner and always has been.
  • badarabdad, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Crawford has made a history of bad calls in big games. Many players and fans have long believed that they weren't bad as much as they were personal. He shows no respect for the game and should have followed his family's footsteps and become an ump, where arguing with the coaches and players is, for some reason, okay. He's a bad ref and has been for 30 years. I don't know why anyone is surprised by this.
  • berfmurret, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3im glad the league did something about this *****.
  • Juncti, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's good that the NBA finally does something when a ref gets out of hand. But, they still fined Duncan for "abuse towards a ref" and probably are keeping those T's and the fines that go along with them on the books as well. Seems if it's shown to be uncalled for, the fines towards Duncan should be removed. I'm not a Spurs fan, but they need to stop fining players for defending themselves when the defense is justified. And no one else wants to comment around the NBA because they don't want to get in trouble. It's like a mafia, can't talk or you get whacked.
  • eliotmat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Money trumps everything.

    If an NBA player was suspended for the same thing it would be for about a week.

    This ref loses the rest of the season and the playoffs.
  • Codycos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Duncan gets a lot of flack because he is not very flashy on the court. He does complain if he thinks he's fouled, just like most of the other NBA players. I don't know... maybe one of the NBA's 50 greatest players of all time feels he has a right tell the ref if he is fouled.
  • funknjunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Good riddance. SPURS FTW
  • Gimli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1While I agree Joey Crawford's actions were inappropriate and the suspension was appropriate, I just wonder if the roles were reverse what kind of action would have been taken? I bet it would be a slap on the wrist fine and that would be it, for the NBA wouldn't want to be without a star during the playoffs now would they? One word comes to mind - Hypocrites
  • mheats99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Heats are gonna win this one(hopefully)

    http://tinyurl.com/2ptvd8
  •  

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