Joey Crawford retiring after this season

Crawford ready to call it quits

Attention coaches, players and fans: You’d better hug Joey Crawford while you can, because he’s about to give himself a pair of technical fouls.

The controversial yet respected veteran NBA referee announced he’s ready to call it a career after this, his 39th season. It would mark the end of a colorful character in recent NBA history, a referee who often gets as much attention as some players and coaches. Curiously, Crawford had a Kobe-like and Jordan-like two word response with regard to his future plans:

“I’m done.”

Good. It's always puzzled me why the league holds him in such high regard. His headscratching calls, bad temper, and diva-like behaviour have been a blight on the sport.

It's about time. I thought he had already retired as he's stayed out of the spotlight as of late (or I haven't been watching as much basketball as of late)
Love that he got suspended for his antics, like giving Duncan a tech for laughing and wanting to fight him. Referees should be neutral and level-headed but when stuff like this happens or when they play games like "who can give Rasheed a tech the fastest" jeopardizes the integrity of the game

NEVER FORGET:

phpBB [video]

i love the reactions by every single piston

phpBB [video]

See, I don't understand how he can keep doing stuff like that, and eject players for laughing before challenging them to a fight, and still be considered a top official. I guess in all fairness there are more plays where there aren't any incidents and thus we don't focus on the times when Crawford or any other official are doing their jobs well, but when he does mess up, he really messes up.

phpBB [video]

Who can forget this? Haha!!! Happy Retirement Joey Crawford.

How can Lebron win championships now?

phpBB [video]

Conspiracy? I hear he was quite a good referee early in his career. Post IRS incident Crawford turned into a little monster for Stern. A guy that deserved to be fired kept on refereeing big games after big games while making notoriously frantic calls regularly. Remember him reversing his own call against Shaq in the playoffs because that would have put Lakers at disadvantage with Shaq in foul trouble?

I am just glad this guy's gone. Silver needs new people around him.

His temper didn't help.

phpBB [video]

Good riddance.