Chris Paul criticizes female referee, faces Twitter/ESPN's wrath

As seen above, Chris Paul was not pleased with the way a rookie female referee handled her job during the Clippers' blowout loss to the Cavs last night.

I think we’ve got to show better composure, but at the same time some of ‘em was ridiculous. Like the tech I got right there was ridiculous. I don’t care what nobody say, I don’t care what she say, that’s terrible. There’s no way that can be a technical. We try to get the ball out quick every time down the court and when we did that she said ‘Uh-uh (no)’ and I said ‘Why uh-uh?’ and she gave me a tech. That’s ridiculous. If that’s the case then this might not be for her.

In no part of his comments does he suggest that the referee (Lauren Holtkamp) being female is the reason "this might not be for her". Still, somehow because Paul casually worded his comments with the pronoun "her", he's caught a barrage of backlash and criticism from twitter and media (mostly ESPN) labeling his remarks as sexist and hurtful.

NBRA's Seham on Chris Paul's digs at Holtkamp: "The NBRA deplores the personal and unprofessional comments made by Chris Paul. She belongs."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 6, 2015

Now I understand the NBA Referee's Association wanting to make a statement defending a member of their union, but why the need to say that Paul "Got personal"? Is any of this really necessary?? Why not just fine him and move on? To those suggesting he shouldn't be fined, he criticized a referee's performance. Adam Silver has been trying hard to repair the credibility image of the league's officiating in the post-Stern era, and if you say something about his refs you're going to pay for it.

But why make this into a national news story? It just seems like Paul is being villainized here. You be the judge..



It should be noted that the Clippers were doing their best Rasheed Wallace impersonations at the refs all night as they were boatraced by the Cavs. They deserved some of the technicals called in this game (they were given a total of 5). But just based on the video above, both of the first two technicals shown (including Paul's) seem uncalled for. I mean what did Barnes do that warranted the first one? And good grief, Barkley of all people defending the call? Is this bizarro world? Atleast some people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt..

Chris Paul @CP3 is a competitor & he had an opinion, I don't think it had anything to do with the refs gender.

— Becky Hammon (@BeckyHammon) February 6, 2015

Let's hope for Chris Paul's sake, and Cedric Maxwell's sake that this blows over. Far too much has been made of it already. He should step up, issue a half-ass apology and both sides move on. No need to make Chris Paul, one of the better character guys we have in the league, into a heel over this.