The NBA is understood to be looking into a suspected burner account on Twitter after a fan suggested it could be operated by one of the league’s referees.
A Twitter user going by the handle @CutliffBlair seems to be very protective of referee Eric Lewis’ reputation. It’s suspected that Lewis is the one running the account but, if he’s not the one, then someone really has his back.
Another user going by @PabloEscoburner tweeted a thread this week showing screen recordings of the account in question’s likes and activity, as well as the five accounts it follows: @RefAnalytics, @OfficialNBARefs, @NBA, @NBAOfficial, and @MasonWBB.
The last account belongs to the George Mason women’s basketball team that Lewis’ wife coaches.
The account, created in 2015, had zero followers and was deleted after the thread was posted to Twitter.
Can The NBA Punish Lewis?
Of course, it’s going to be hard to prove that Lewis is the one behind the account, but it’s strange that a single account would keep defending a particular referee given that folks tend not to like them at all.
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According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the league has opened an official review into the matter, though we’re unsure what the punishment could be if Lewis is found to be the one behind the account given that he hasn’t done anything that could affect the outcomes of games.
