NBA Referee Eric Lewis Retires Amid Probe Into Social Media Activity

The NBA is closing its investigation into Eric Lewis after the longtime referee decided to retire.

Former NBA referee Eric Lewis has informed the league that he’s retiring from his duties as an official effective immediately, per a statement released from the league’s office of communications on Wednesday. 

Lewis had been the subject of an investigation involving his social media activity following allegations that he operated a burner account on X, formerly known as Twitter, which frequently posted in defense of himself and other NBA referees. The NBA was investigating whether Lewis had posted about officiating in an unauthorized manner.

With Lewis retiring, the league announced it would be closing its investigation into the X account.

The account in question, which has since been deactivated, had the username @CuttliffBlair. A look into the activity on the account shows it regularly defended NBA officials and argued with those who were critical of decisions made by referees.

NBA fans did some digging and found what is rumored to be referee Eric Lewis' burner account.

The Twitter account, since deactivated, repeatedly defended officiating and often tweets mentioning Lewis 🤯

(via @PabloEscoburner, @Mikey_Wyllin)pic.twitter.com/B49lLFhsah

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 26, 2023

The league launched its investigation shortly before the 2023 NBA Finals. Despite officiating each of the previous four Finals, Lewis was not listed as one of the 12 referees working the series between the Nuggets and Heat. 

Lewis, 52, has been a referee in the NBA for 19 seasons and officiated 1,098 regular season games and 82 playoff games, including six appearances as an NBA Finals official.