Hoopsworld is reporting that the NBA has quietly reinstated former referee Joey Crawford. Joey was the referee suspended indefinitely by NBA commissioner David Stern at the end of last season because of an incident involving Tim Duncan... you can check out the details, and D-Wil's take on the situation here.
Personally, I had a different opinion than D-Wil on this. My thoughts are always that the referee should never make himself the story. Now, I agree with the point made at the time that Tim Duncan is whiny. I have no problem with t'ing him up for whining if that's the case. But this situation did not warrant the reaction from Joey Crawford, period. He flipped out, tossed Tim Duncan out of the game while he was sitting on the bench, watching the game. He then exchanged words with Duncan, again a display of unprofessional behavior. It's that simple.
And Joey Crawford had a long history of unprofessional behavior, and had been warned by the NBA before. Hence, after this incident he was suspended for, what seemed at the time, permanently.
But now he's back. Which means that he might once again make himself the story during a game. Or, it might mean that he learned his lesson, and the NBA believed him remorse enough that they felt like giving him another chance (don't call it a second chance, though - we are talking multiple chances now). That's fine. But, quiet as the NBA may want to keep this, Joey Crawford's reinstatement will make news. No doubt ESPN will make mention of it next time Crawford is assigned to a Spurs game. And I'm surprised by this turn of events. I really thought Joey Crawford's outburst last year was the actions of a man who was nearing the end of his career, and no longer gave a f*ck. It was like he said to himself "F*ck it, I'm almost done anyway, season is almost over", and just decide to go out in a blaze of glory. I would have never guessed he would even want to come back.
Personally, I think they should have Joey Crawford race Tim Duncan at the All-Star Game next year.
Oh, one more thing - one of the more interesting aspects of that Starting Five post I linked to on this topic is that Joey Crawford's daughter commented a few times in the comments section. It's worth reading those comments, too. Personally, I thought she didn't come off very well; that may have made me even less sympathetic to her dad, when she started complaining about the "spoiled athletes", etc. It's nice that she went online to defend her father, but in the end she may have done more damage than good.
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Wow. What a tempest over there at TSF.
Personally, I am not getting into an argument that boils down to a he-said, she-said between Crawford and Duncan. Discounting either's history, that is, to me, what it boils down to in this particular incident. So I'll let it be and hopefully by-gones are by-gones next season.
In regards to Ms. Crawford, wow. She should have never commented. Period. Either that or kept it totally generic (i.e. "Thanks for an interesting look at my dad - signed Ms. Crawford). Instead she dropped a bomb and set off inferred opinions that really, really did not need to be said.
Agreed, Crawford-Duncan race would be cool, but it should be for a charity, like Kids Who Can't Laugh or something like that.