Yahoo Sports Referee Eric Lewis, under investigation, will not work NBA Finals between Heat, Nuggets
NBA referee Eric Lewis, under investigation for the potential use of a burner Twitter account to defend himself and other officials, will not be working the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.
On Thursday morning, the NBA released the roster of the 12 officials who will work the championship games and Lewis was not on the list. Based on previous experience and playoff grades, Lewis would have made the cut, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
Lewis had previously officiated games in each of the last four NBA Finals.
"Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter and he will not be working the Finals," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The league has not indicated any potential timetable for the completion of the investigation and has not commented on any potential discipline. The investigation is likely looking into the potential violation of a rule that prohibits referees from publicly commenting on officiating matters without proper league approval.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off Thursday night in Denver at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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What are the allegations against Eric Lewis?
The NBA opened an investigation Monday into Lewis and the Twitter account @CuttliffBlair. In dozens of tweets, the account posted replies to several messages that had been critical of Lewis and several other NBA referees.
The Twitter account had been momentarily deactivated after the potential link to Lewis was discovered, but it was then reactived as of Monday morning. The link came to light May 25 after a Twitter user found the Blair Cutliff account and then posted screengrabs. The account follows only six other accounts, most of which are related to NBA officiating. The overwhelming majority of the account's most recent messages had been replies to other Twitter users who had commented on various matters of NBA officiating.
Has Eric Lewis said anything about the matter?
Not publicly, no. The most recent message from the Blair Cuttliff account however, dated May 25, is a reply to another user, claiming that the account belongs to Lewis' older brother.
"This is MARK Lewis," the message reads. "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. Sorry to inconvenience you."
Who is veteran NBA referee Eric Lewis?
Lewis, 52, is in his 19th season as an NBA referee. He has officiated more than 1,000 games and nearly 100 playoff games. He officiated his first NBA Finals game in 2019, in the series between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. Since then, he had officiated in Finals games in the subsequent three seasons.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA referee Eric Lewis won't work NBA Finals while under investigation
