Referee Eric Lewis retires amidst NBA investigation of burner account
NBA referee Eric Lewis has informed the league office that he is retiring, effective immediately, in the midst of an NBA investigation.
In recent months, Lewis was being investigated for improper use of social media to discuss NBA officiating and defend calls made by himself and other refs.
While the Twitter account used the name "Blair Cuttliff," the league office was investigating whether Lewis was behind the tweets and using this as a burner account.
There were also accusations of bias toward the Boston Celtics.
Referee Eric Lewis has today’s Sixers/Celtics game. His family are huge Celtics fans and the Celtics have the highest win percentage of any team he refs🤔 pic.twitter.com/fAFcSbawvO
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) May 14, 2023
"In light of his decision, the NBA’s investigation into [Lewis'] social-media activity has been closed," the NBA announced in a press release.
Three months ago, the NBA announced that Lewis wasn't selected as one of the 12 officials who would be working the 2023 NBA Finals. Lewis had worked the previous four NBA Finals.
Lewis was a veteran official of 19 seasons who had worked more than 1,200 games in his officiating career.
The final game he officiated was on May 16, when the Denver Nuggets played the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.