Lakers' LeBron James Gets Bizarre 'Gut-Wrenching' Apology from NBA Refs
DALLAS - It's very sad to watch a relationship go sour, and so we find it "gut-wrenching'' that the NBA referees are having to apologize to LeBron James for a missed call in a Los Angeles Lakers loss at the Boston Celtics.
In all seriousness, the refs are handling this as if a girlfriend and a boyfriend have broken up, with one of them penning a "It's not you, it's me'' letter.
“Like everyone else, referees make mistakes,” the officials’ statement read in reflection on Saturday's Celtics vs. Lakers result, a 125-121 OT win for Boston. “We made one at the end of last night’s game and that is gut-wrenching for us. This play will weigh heavily and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.”
"Gut-wrenching''? "Sleepless nights''?
Can this relationship be saved?
The apology is bizarre ... and to our knowledge, unprecedented. The NBA does a fine job admitting to refs' errors as it is, with a next-day review and a just-the-facts admission.
There has never before been a need for a "Dear John''-toned letter to a player or to a team.
And yet ... there have been, in NBA history, literally hundreds of thousands of "missed calls.'' (Watch the Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic and one would think there are "hundreds of thousands of missed calls'' every night! That's a joke, MFFL's.)
Is it "gut-wrenching'' when the refs miss a call in a Dallas game? Are there 'sleepless nights'' when other last-place teams - and that's what the once-regal Lakers are - lose with the help of an errant whistle?
Yes, James - the four-time MVP and a "face of the league'' - was fouled on a potentially difference-making drive.
But, no, it's not "important'' that he was fouled ... that is to say, not any more important than when a member of the Rockets or the Magic or the Knicks or the Mavs is fouled without a call.
Why is this different? Because LeBron threw a tantrum? Because Anthony Davis claims the Lakers were "cheated''? Because later on social media, James - apparently somehow able to collect his crumpled body from the gym floor despite the "devastation'' - managed to type, with surely weary fingers, "I don’t understand. I truly don’t.”
LeBron James, age 38, doesn't understand how a ref missed a call?
Hopefully, the NBA refs' oh-so-sweet letter will allow these two lovebirds to kiss and make up.
We wish this wonderful couple the best.
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