"Who the hell is paying to see the referee?" - Stephen A. Smith blasts NBA officials over 'ridiculous' Giannis Antetokounmpo ejection
Stephen A. Smith blasted the officials after a technical foul was called on Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, saying he was ready to phone the NBA office. On his show, "First Take", Smith promised to phone the NBA office to not only hear their side of why the technical foul was given, but also to tell them that it should not have been called.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was whistled for a second technical foul with nine minutes left in the third quarter of the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo posterized Isaiah Stewart on a breakaway play right after a block and stared at him while flexing his muscles.
However, it was when Antetokounmpo made the "too small" gesture while running back that the referee saw enough and slapped him with the technical foul.
Since it was his second of the night, Antetokounmpo was ejected, leaving Milwaukee without its superstar and leader for the rest of the second half.
Smith said:
"I'mma call the league office today. Who the hell is paying to see the referee? That is not a reason to eject Giannis Antetokounmpo from a game. That is ridiculous. That is a disservice to the fans coming to see them play."
Despite failing to watch the game, Stephen A. Smith rants about Giannis Antetokounmpo's technical foul
The panel for Thursday's episode of First Take, which also included former NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins, was supposed to tackle a different topic, but Stephen A. Smith told the rest of the hosts that he would first discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo's technical foul.
While he admitted that he did not get to see the Pistons-Bucks game, Smith reiterated that there was no reason for Antetokounmpo to be sanctioned for what he did to Stewart.
Smith continued:
"That is not the reason to eject a superstar basketball player who clearly the paying customer is coming to see ... For Giannis Antetokounmpo to get ejected for that reason is ridiculous."
Luckily for the Milwaukee Bucks, Damian Lillard, their newly acquired superstar guard, caught fire just in time, scoring eight straight points to spark their comeback against the Detroit Pistons.
Brook Lopez gave the Milwaukee Bucks some breathing room with a three, but Jae Crowder kept the Detroit Pistons in the game when he made 1-of-2 free throws right after Cade Cunningham's three for the Pistons to stay alive.
In the end, Cunningham missed another three from long range, and Milwaukee won 120-118 at home.