The Los Angeles Lakers were the subject of a lot of controversial calls throughout the course of the 2022-23 season, but none more controversial than a missed foul call when LeBron James was hit by Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum at the end of regulation on Jan. 28.
With the game tied in the final seconds, James drove to the hoop looking for the game-winning basket. Instead of finishing a layup though, he was hit on the wrist point blank and missed. There was no call though and the game went to overtime, where the Lakers would go on to lose.
Perhaps the most memorable part of that whole situation was Patrick Beverley, who was still on the Lakers at the time, bringing a camera out onto the floor to show referee Eric Lewis that his crew missed the call, resulting in a technical foul.
After that game, some fans on social media pointed out that Lewis and his family are Celtics fans, which could have played a role in him giving Boston favorable calls. Not much came of it though, until now.
As the NBA playoffs roll on and Lewis continues to officiate the league’s most important games, it appears fans have found some more suspicious social media activity.
Fans found a Twitter account with the name “blair cuttliff” that has solely been used to defend Lewis online, particularly against Laker fans:
NBA ref Eric Lewis has been outed as having a burner account (@CuttliffBlair). Lmaooo 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. ?
(h/t @Mikey_Wyllin) thread ?⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6GTvURouOc
— Pablo Escobarner (blue check) (@PabloEscoburner) May 25, 2023
The tweets drew so much attention that according to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the league is actually investigating into the matter:
The NBA, I'm told, has opened an official review into Twitter activity unearthed this week with frequent mentions of veteran referee Eric Lewis.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 26, 2023
The account, which only followed the NBA, NBA officials’ page, George Mason Women’s Basketball, where Lewis’ wife is the coach, and a couple of other pages, was deactivated shortly after this all came to light. It was then reactivated though and whoever is behind it is claiming to be Lewis’ brother Mark:
Pablo,
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.Sorry to inconvenience you.
— blair cuttliff (@CuttliffBlair) May 26, 2023
It’s possible that is true, or it could also be Eric trying to cover his own tracks. Regardless though, this situation was brought to the attention of James himself, who wants to know if it’s all true:
This Eric Lewis ? true??? ?
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 27, 2023
The league’s investigation will get to the bottom of all of this, although it’s hard to see any sort of punishment coming Lewis’ way for defending himself on Twitter.
One thing that has come to light in this situation though is that it’s possible for officials to have biases as well and the league probably needs to do a better job of seeking those out, especially if they are assigned to important postseason games.
There’s nothing that can be done about the 2022-23 season for James and the Lakers, but hopefully Lewis is not reffing their games next season if the NBA does indeed find bias in their investigation.
James expected to be ready for training camp
After playing through a foot injury to finish out the season, the expectation is that James will likely need surgery this offseason. If he does though, reports indicate he would still be ready for the start of training camp next fall.
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