NBA referee Eric Lewis, accused of using an anonymous “burner” account on social media, retired Wednesday and the league announced that the probe into his alleged conduct has ended.
Lewis, 52, worked over 1,200 games in 19 seasons in the league, among them the first game of the 2023 NBA Playoffs series between the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers. It would be that game, among others, that would draw fan attention to the account @CuttliffBlair.
In response to a graphic posted on the platform then known as Twitter, which said that Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James was 0-for-82 in games refereed by Lewis, @CuttliffBlair pointed out May 4 that James and the Lakers had won Game 1, according to a screenshot published by the Daily Mail.
User @PabloEscoburner called attention to the account’s dogged defense of Lewis with a video tweeted on May 25, writing that “this is a momentous day. The account will surely be deleted soon so for the archives, the entirety of the account’s replies. All involving… yep, Eric Lewis.”
Other fans accused Lewis, an alleged Boston Celtics fan, of bias in favor of the team.
In response to a claim that the Celtics were 54-29 in games refereed by Lewis, @CuttliffBlair responded “Not sure if thats true either. Pretty sure there are other refs with similar stats with top teams. Smells like nothing to sniff,” according to the New York Post.
Lewis’ last game as an NBA referee was Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on May 16 between the eventual champion Denver Nuggets and the Lakers. The Nuggets won that game, 132-126.
Under league rules, referees are forbidden from publicly commenting on officiating without the league’s express permission. @CuttliffBlair had numerous tweets defending the honor of Lewis as captured in the @PabloEscoburner video; if Lewis was behind the account, those tweets would have constituted a violation.
The account followed just six people on the platform, according to the Mail: the user @PabloEscoburner that pointed out the possible connection to Lewis, two NBA refereeing accounts, the league’s main and official PR accounts, and the official account for the George Mason University women’s basketball team.
Lewis’ wife, Vanessa Blair-Lewis, is the George Mason head coach.
Given the closure of the investigation, it has not officially been established by the league whether or not the burner allegations against Lewis were true or not.
The account’s final tweet said that Lewis’ brother Mark was behind the posting.
“This is MARK Lewis. Right family (older brother). I’m sorry that I put E, in this situation, but this ain’t Watergate. You’re right, the account WILL be coming down. Twitter should not be this vindictive,” the since-deleted tweet read, according to The Athletic.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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