Tony Brothers will be taking a different path once his days as a referee are over.
During the third quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., Mike Breen said on the broadcast that Brothers will be running for Mayor of Norfolk, Va.
Here is a video of Breen talking about Brothers’ desire to enter politics down the road.
NBA referee Tony Brothers, who is currently in his 32nd season, will be running for Mayor of the City of Norfolk, Virginia, in 2028 after he retires. pic.twitter.com/xNT8l9lfu3
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 14, 2026
As Breen implied, Brothers’ looming foray into politics was already known, but many people may have just learned about it when it was mentioned during Game 5 of the Cavs-Pistons series.
Politics is largely a popularity contest, and if he were to run for any government position in Detroit, it’s fair to assume he wouldn’t get more than five votes.
Detroit sports fans were all over the 61-year-old referee following a controversial no-call near the end of regulation of Wednesday’s game.
They all felt that Brothers should have called a foul on Cavs big man Jarrett Allen, which would have given Pistons forward Ausar Thompson a chance to win the game for Detroit at the foul line. Instead, the game went into overtime, where the Cavaliers completed their comeback attempt to secure a 117-113 win and a 3-2 series lead.
