One of the best things about the never-ending conflict between athletes and the officials that judge the games they play is that every so often an official will be interviewed by a reporter about something that happened during a game.
Often, this interview is to explain an official’s side of the story. Or for a ref to offer a mea culpa after a decision gone wrong on the court. In the case of official Kane Fitzgerald, No. 5 in your officiating program if you’re keeping score at home, he got to speak to the media on Tuesday night after he ejected LeBron James for the first time in his 15-year NBA career.
James was ejected during the third quarter of a game against the Miami Heat, and afterward James complained about the officiating that led to his ejection. But Fitzgerald said he was right to issue a technical foul against LeBron, and that James should not have punched the air near him in a threatening way.
Fitzgerald met with a pool reporter after the game, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, and described what led to the decision to eject James.
NBA released a transcript from the referee who ejected LeBron.
"He threw an air punch directly at me and then he aggressively charged at me and then he used vulgarity in my ear a few times." pic.twitter.com/VNoQkmaGQF
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) November 29, 2017
“It was a culmination of a couple different acts,” Fitzgerald said. Immediately after the no-call, he turned and threw an air punch directly at me and then he aggressively charged at me and then he used vulgarity in my ear a few times.”
Fitzgerald does clarify that he did assess just one technical foul for the incident, though it was enough to eject James on Tuesday night.
That’s probably not a satisfactory explanation for James or fans who think he’s unfairly officiated, but it’s always nice to see officials get to explain themselves after a game. They’re probably not thrilled to have to talk to reporters, but it’s nice when everyone has a voice in things.
