{"id":58975,"date":"2023-11-23T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T18:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=58975"},"modified":"2023-11-23T13:00:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T18:00:43","slug":"what-should-the-nba-do-about-scott-foster-and-chris-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/11\/23\/what-should-the-nba-do-about-scott-foster-and-chris-paul\/","title":{"rendered":"What Should the NBA Do About Scott Foster and Chris Paul?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paulch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Chris Paul<\/strong><\/a> thought he only had to worry about facing his former team Wednesday night, he was wrong. In addition to the Phoenix Suns, the veteran guard also went toe-to-toe with his biggest rival: NBA referee Scott Foster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late in the second quarter, Paul fouled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kevin Durant<\/strong><\/a> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheHoopCentral\/status\/1727544736163189212\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">made his disagreement known to Foster<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The 29-year veteran ref called two quick techs on Paul, giving CP3 his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/38963377\/warriors-chris-paul-tossed-scott-foster-2-technicals\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seventh career ejection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s the latest episode in the saga between Paul and Foster, and leads many to wonder when\u2014or even if\u2014the madness will end.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Should the NBA Do About Scott Foster and Chris Paul?<\/h2>\n<h3><b>Background<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paul\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/warriors-star-chris-paul-ejected-after-latest-incident-with-referee-scott-foster-in-return-to-phoenix-050306940.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGDViPZPgg5ZUuFjenO2MhGOMI7GUYMQMgDasPftdBWvpiaItsAX17WaTUpaKWgaIpUftaJVPYj4HqbjqyJa-gtPt3nRwj1ot8CTne0dyhQLhIowIGc8VFVvChaKa9IzOZkRPp4pevp9APQTql6w6OHWNEiNR_f_gWaqW1QmS9Z0\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">first public criticism of Foster<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> came during the 2018 playoffs when he was with the Houston Rockets, telling reporters, \u201cI got a tech tonight. Scott Foster at his finest.\u201d The second incident came during Paul\u2019s tenure with the OKC Thunder, referring to a costly delay of game call by Foster in 2020:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I asked Chris Paul about the officiating &#8211; specifically that delay of game call. He named Scott Foster as says he knows he\u2019ll get fined.<\/p>\n<p>A passionate response that includes \u201cthat shit don\u2019t make no sense&#8230;we could have won the game\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/w2MpKr3Uyr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/w2MpKr3Uyr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TaylorRooks\/status\/1301374628535959553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2021 playoffs only added fuel to the fire, as a loss to the Lakers in game 3 of the first round marked <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nba-suns-chris-paul-upset-about-losing-another-playoff-game-refereed-by-scott-foster-144858838.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paul\u2019s 11th postseason loss officiated by Foster<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As of now, Paul holds a 3-17 postseason record with Foster on the sidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paul\u2019s comments over last night\u2019s ejection confirmed what everyone else knew: it\u2019s personal between him and Foster. The veteran guard briefly explained why him and Foster have clashed over the years:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CP3 says \u201cit\u2019s personal\u201d with Scott Foster and it involves Chris Paul\u2019s son. <\/p>\n<p>CP3 also reveals he had a private meeting with his dad, Scott, Doc Rivers, and Bob Delaney about it during his tenure with the Clippers. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/acNy4h4Muv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/acNy4h4Muv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WorldWideWob\/status\/1727594843931578731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 23, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>What the NBA\u00a0Should Do About Scott Foster vs. Chris Paul<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s clear that the league is aware of Paul\u2019s frustrations with Scott Foster. So, why do they keep allowing him to officiate CP3\u2019s games, and what actions can they take moving forward?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adam Silver should formally investigate the situation surrounding Paul and Foster to stop letting personal bias infiltrate the professionalism of the game. It&#8217;s issues like this that contribute to the negative perception of the league&#8217;s referees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This young season has already seen some questionable actions by NBA refs. The Lakers had <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/11\/07\/lakers-spotlight-poor-officiating-in-narrow-loss-to-the-heat\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">protested missed calls<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against LeBron James, and Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PAKA_FLOCKA\/status\/1723186028633002171\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">used his postgame presser<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to rant about officiating. Players, coaches and fans not only have to worry about rough calls, but also the referees behind them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the situation between Paul and Foster continues to unfold, the NBA must examine the key issue at hand instead of just sweeping it under the rug. An investigation into Foster&#8217;s conduct (coupled with potential punishments) is the only way that the saga can be put to bed. The Paul-Foster beef is arguably worse than retired referee <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/nba\/news\/eric-lewis-investigation-nba-referee-burner-account\/hmwdhb6dye9ptil3e7or2hyx\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eric Lewis\u2019s burner account<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and it\u2019s a key factor into why everyone is upset with the current state of NBA officiating.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for Foster, this ejection is the latest example as to why he shouldn\u2019t be officiating games that Paul plays in. Among the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/official.nba.com\/referee-assignments\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NBA\u2019s requirements for a crew chief<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are, \u201cHigh-level play calling, partnering skills, and tools for handling any game situation, including interpersonal communication.\u201d Those traits weren\u2019t on display Wednesday night. Whether they\u2019ll come around in the next CP3 vs. Scott Foster card remains to be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Chris Paul thought he only had to worry about facing his former team Wednesday night, he was wrong. In addition to the Phoenix Suns, the veteran guard also went toe-to-toe with his biggest rival: NBA referee Scott Foster. Late in the second quarter, Paul fouled Kevin Durant and made his disagreement known to Foster. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":58980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,25,62,28],"tags":[229,69,48988],"class_list":["post-58975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-warriors","category-nba","category-suns","tag-chris-paul","tag-kevin-durant","tag-scott-foster"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}