NBA investigating whether referee Eric Lewis is using Twitter burner account
Feb 8, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA referee Eric Lewis (42) stands on the court in the third quarter of a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA is investigating whether referee Eric Lewis has been secretly using a Twitter burner account to defend himself in discussions online.
Some Twitter sleuths seemed to have figured out that Lewis was using an account anonymously to defend himself. The account in question is called “Blair Cuttliff.” “Blair” is his wife’s maiden name and also the name of one of Lewis’ children.
At the time most people tracked the account, it had no followers and was following five accounts. The five accounts it was following included: the NBA’s official account, three accounts related to NBA officials, and then the George Mason Women’s Basketball Twitter account. Lewis’ wife Vanessa Blair-Lewis coaches the George Mason women’s team.
Much of the Twitter activity from that account involved replies to conversations where the name “Eric Lewis” was mentioned. You can see a video that shows the Twitter activity from that account:
NBA ref Eric Lewis has been outed as having a burner account (@CuttliffBlair). Lmaooo this is a momentous day. The account will surely be deleted soon so for the archives, the entirety of the account’s replies. All involving… yep, Eric Lewis. 😂
(h/t @Mikey_Wyllin) thread 🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6GTvURouOc
— pablo escobarner (blue check) (@PabloEscoburner) May 25, 2023
If that is not an account belonging to Lewis, then it’s run by someone who seems to share subjects that would interest Lewis, and a strong interest in defending the official.
After several tweets emerged alleging that Lewis had a burner account, reporter Marc Stein said the NBA was looking into matters.
The NBA, I'm told, has opened an official review into Twitter activity unearthed this week with frequent mentions of veteran referee Eric Lewis.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 26, 2023
According to his bio, Lewis is in his 19th season as an NBA official. He entered this season having officiated 1,098 regular-season games and 82 playoff games, including six NBA Finals games.
The investigation about Lewis’ Twitter activity comes on the heels of a video that circulated last week showing an official’s interesting reaction to a Jimmy Butler layup.
