Did Joey Crawford Justly Eject Kenyon Martin?

Kenyon Martin has been known to be a (fake) tough and physical player. Part of that act is throwing random elbows and forearm shivers. Luckily, referees like Joey Crawford have been ordained by the basketball Gods above to protect women and children and make sure that that type of play stays off NBA courts. Let's see what happens when those two opposing powers collided in last night's Cavs v. Nuggets match up:

So just in case you missed it, Joey Crawford basically gave Kenyon Martin a flagrant two foul for that little shove he gave Anderson Varejao. Flagrant twos lead to automatic ejections, and of course Martin was not too happy with the call. And he definitely has reason to be upset. I mean, did that really look like a flagrant two to you? If anything it looked like more of Varejao's classic flopping. Of course, Martin did receive a deserved technical foul earlier in the quarter, but this looks like Joey Crawford was just overstepping his bounds again. You would think he would have learned his lesson from the Tim Duncan situation a few seasons back.

(via: Basketbawful)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-14-2008 @ 3:03PM

Brett Edwards said...

Only thing I can think of is that the league told the refs to crack down on players taking shots fighting through screens. Remember, that's how the whole Rockets-Suns thing got started.

If not? Then yeah, that's a horrible call.

11-14-2008 @ 3:22PM

organiceskimos said...

It's totally ridiculous. Kenyon always gets nailed with flagrant 2s for stupid things. Last year he was grabbing a rebound and hit Melvin Ely with an elbow (looked totally accidental, he just flailed in the air a bit), but because Ely ended up with a fractured eye socket, they upgraded it to a Flagrant 2. I know he has a short fuse and a bad reputation, but this one was totally undeserved -- a tech, fine, but a Flagrant 2? The fact that Crawford took a 2nd look at it and upheld the call shows just how much of an a-hole that guy is.. he just wanted to prove a point after K-Mart got that first tech for talking behind his back.

11-14-2008 @ 3:29PM

Rick said...

Naw, he definitely deserved to be kicked out. He got a technical the very defensive possession before (not just earlier in the quarter) for elbowing Mo Williams after the whistle, who was trying to set a screen. Then he comes down the next play and randomly runs straight in to a man screening? Plus if you watch the replay, K-Mart looks at Varejo and then drops his shoulder and goes right into him. Crawford was 5 feet away from the play and had a clear angle on this. Also, consider the context of the play. Martin was obviously heated from the technical before and his team was down like 10 with 50 seconds left.

11-14-2008 @ 5:24PM

frank said...

Wrong game , wrong guy;
He should be in the games where boston is playing;
KG the thug guy intimidating smaller guys like
Calderon and Steve Nash ;
What is wrong with the league , what is wrong with this picture???
This guy should be in all the games that boston
is playing , for sure.

11-17-2008 @ 10:07AM

Chris said...

This was called a flagrant 2 not so much because of this play (saw Anderson coming, lowered the shoulder and intentionally charged into him), but the continuation from the previous time down the floor. The previous time down the floor, he intentionally floored Mo Williams with an elbow and then argued with the officials. There is no place for this in basketball. Basketball is a physical sport yes, but there is place for intentional elbows and shoulder charges. The NBA needs to clean up this crap, but they need to clean it up for every team. Why does KG get away with it when Kenyan Martin does not. KG fouls on just about every pick with no call. It is frustrating to watch. As for Anderson flopping. He has earned the reputation as a flopper, but most of the time, he takes hard charges. Let's see you take a shoulder charge from someone 30lbs heavier that you. Lets see how much you flop.

11-18-2008 @ 5:29PM

Carl Menard said...

LMFAO!! This guy clearly shouldn't be reffing and games any more. That hardly a offensive foul. Whats even Funnier about the whole situation is the fact the Varejo has to be one of the premier floppers in the league. What happened to the rule they were suppose to implement about flopping any ways. Unreal.

11-18-2008 @ 11:42PM

nster said...

You're an idiot. I'd like to see get nailed like that .. you'd probably deserve it, too.

11-18-2008 @ 11:43PM

nster64 said...

I mean excrement. What a piece of garbage of a "player".

Crawford did the right thing. K-Mart shouldn't be even playing pro basketball. He's been a thug ever since he entered the league and the league hasn't done anything to get this walking increment out of the league.