On Saturday, longtime NBA referee Joey Crawford announced he would retired at the end of the 2015-16 season after 39 years in the league. It has been a long and successful career for Crawford and he has certainly been in part of many memorable and controversial moments in the league.
He told the Delaware County Daily Times, “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You know what happens? It’s not that you lose your passion. I have that. That’s insanity. But it just comes to the point where you say, ‘I don’t want to make a fool out of myself.’ And it’s been so good that I want to go out on a high note. I don’t want to go out on a low note. I want to be in the NBA Finals, and I don’t want to be reffing just for the sake of reffing.”
Of course, whenever someone makes a big announcement like this, the social media world loves to chime in and bring up all the memorable and funny moments of that person’s career. Twitter did not disappoint this time either.
It's only right that Joey Crawford and Kobe Bryant retire the same yr. Legends, especially in their own mind.
— Stumpty (@stumptystump) January 2, 2016
Throwback to when Joey Crawford would actually physically drag players off of the court https://t.co/vrALK39YaI
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) January 2, 2016
When you see Joey Crawford is done after this season pic.twitter.com/PA9pbvmwKp
— Ivan White (@ivanbball13) January 2, 2016
Lmaooo!! RT @SidelineBlues: The best of Joey Crawford 😂 https://t.co/MfHrdtw19Y
— MalcolmJerod and 87 others (@MalcolmJerod) January 2, 2016
When Joey Crawford retires he will leave the game as the all-time leader in steals by a referee. pic.twitter.com/vLJBeFDQaV
— Hooped Up (@hoopedup) January 2, 2016
https://twitter.com/MariRae24/status/683375121080299520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Crawford has certainly a great career in the NBA. Some may miss him on the court, but it’s safe to say, many probably won’t.
Happy retirement, Joey!
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
