NBA Referee Suspended After Confrontation

Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely today after an incident involving San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan. Crawford ejected Duncan from Sunday's game against the Dallas Mavericks while Duncan was on the bench. After the game, Duncan alleged that Crawford has a "vendetta" against him and stated that Crawford challenged him to a fight before the ejection.

Referee suspensions should happen more often. College football has taken the lead with actions against rogue referees, but on the whole, there is no effective check against referee misconduct. Actions against referee misconduct must go farther than simple letters of reprimand to the officials and letters of apology to the teams. David Stern has taken an effective step against a veteran official, showing that referee ego must be restrained.