Top NBA referee suspended for misconduct

Referee Joey Crawford will no longer send off players and coaches this season. He was suspended indefinitely by Commissioner David Stern for his behavior toward Tim Duncan.

Duncan said Crawford challenged him to a fight during the game against the Mavericks and with Duncan out, the Mavs beat the Spurs, ending their chances of landing second in the Western Conference.

Crawford has refereed more postseason games than any other active referee and his suspension will last until the end of the NBA Finals. After that, he would have to meet with Stern to discuss his reinstatement.

Since Rodney Mott was suspended for three games on January 12, 2007 for making an obscene gesture at a fan and using inappropriate language in Portland, Crawford is the first referee to be suspended.

Crawford comes from a family that officiates at sporting events. His father, Shag, was a major league umpire and now his brother, Jerry, is too.

Crawford has now been an NBA referee for 31 seasons and has refereed more than 2,000 games in the regular season and 266 in the playoffs, this includes 38 NBA Finals.

However, Crawford is quite known for his temperament. In Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference finals between the Spurs and Mavericks, Crawford called four technical fouls in the first 10 minutes, resulting in the expulsion of Don Nelson, the then coach of the Mavericks, and Del Harris, the coach. assistant.

When contacted about the suspension of Crawford, Nelson and Harris, who are now with the Golden State Warriors, declined to comment.

Crawford had called another technical foul against Duncan in another game recently and after the latest incident, Duncan feels that Crawford has a personal vendetta against him.