NBA ref Eric Lewis retires after investigation into his Twitter activity / News - Basketnews.com

The NBA investigated referee Eric Lewis for allegedly creating a Twitter burner account to defend himself. Before the investigation was over, the official decided to retire and informed the league of his decision.

Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP - Scanpix Credit Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP - Scanpix

NBA referee Eric Lewis got into a public scandal a few months ago. With an NBA investigation still underway, Lewis decided to retire.

The league officially announced that the official is stepping down, effective immediately. At the same time, the NBA investigation into the referee was closed.

Back in May 2023, Twitter, now X, users discovered that Lewis had allegedly created a so-called burner account on the platform to defend himself. It has since been deleted.

The account went under the name of blair cuttliff. Before it was discovered, it only followed five Twitter accounts - NBA, NBA Official, NBA Referees, RefAnalytics, and George Mason Women's Basketball. The last account was associated with Lewis' wife being the head coach of the team.

It was largely used to defend Eric Lewis or NBA officiating, correcting people when they were talking about Lewis but it wasn't him in question. The account also had a minor feud with Lakers fans during a Nuggets-Lakers series.

A league veteran, Lewis was not chosen to officiate in the NBA Finals. Before the scandal, Lewis got into public discourse after a non-call on LeBron James, after which Patrick Beverley received a technical foul from Lewis for showing him the error on a camera he got from a nearby photographer.

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