LeBron James’ on-court outburst sparks humiliating official response from NBA Referees Union

Full disclosure: I have been an avid basketball fan for almost 30 years and I never seen something like this before.

In one of the most embarrassing things ever seen in professional sports, the official NBA referees union’s Twitter account publicly humiliated and apologized for missing a challenge to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

It’s as stupid, pathetic and pointless as you might think.

Like everyone else, judges make mistakes. We made one at the end of yesterday’s game and it’s painful for us. This game will be a heavy burden and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.

— NBA Referee (@OfficialNBARefs) January 29, 2023

Quoting an article in The Washington Post, the NBA referee’s Twitter account did everything but grovel to propose their first child to James.

“Like everyone else, judges make mistakes,” the tweet began. Although this is an innocent enough start for an apology, it soon turned into a sycophancy.

“We made one at the end of yesterday’s game and it’s excruciating for us,” the tweet continued. “This game will be a heavy burden and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.”

“Inside-out”? “heavy to weigh”? “Sleepless nights”?

Do the judges apologize for missing James’ challenge or for sleeping with his wife? Seriously, this is an unprecedented level of groveling.

There are so many disgustingly wrong things about this that it’s almost hard to know where to start.

First, every team in NBA history has lost, maybe two dozen, because of a missed call. What exactly makes this missed challenge by James so much more egregious than, say, the entire 2002 Western Conference Finals or the 2006 NBA Finals?

Second, this cringing doesn’t help the perception that the Lakers and LeBron James are coddling in the league. Will judges start apologizing for countless missed calls to Luka Doncic? Giannis Antetokounmpo? Kyrie Irving? Why is James so privileged here?

Mind you, this low-brow apology came after James publicly and embarrassingly melted away by showing the referees at a nationally televised match:

LeBron was not happy after this game to win the game. pic.twitter.com/FNMPBQTHox

— ESPN (@espn) January 29, 2023

Look at this theatricality and tell me that it deserves an apology. The judges should have doubled the stakes, if anything.

Unsurprisingly, the replies to the apology tweet showed that it wasn’t well received on NBA Twitter at all.

clowns

— Nicky Grayson (unofficial) (@godsewa) January 29, 2023

One of the worst things I’ve seen in this league. All of our teams have suffered from bad calls. Apologizing because it’s LeBron, it’s a shame.

— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) January 29, 2023

“Causes sleepless nights”? Lolololol – Sincerely, every Sacramento Kings fan

— Tom Maley (@kncitom) January 29, 2023

Look, referee hostility is part and parcel of being a sports fan (just ask Cincinnati Bengals fans today).

Part of that relationship is the unspoken agreement that bad or missed calls are part of the game and happen to every team. By the rubber band, if the referee is going to be an idiot, he just needs to be an equal opportunity idiot.

To bow to one team and a specific player? It’s almost as deadly as accusations that the game was rigged.

Better than the NBA.

This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.

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