Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was ejected from Thursday night's game in Memphis after getting back-to-back technical foul calls for arguing with the referees.
The incident happened with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter as the Grizzlies held a 61-45 lead. Grizzlies forward Jamychal Green was taking foul shots after being fouled by Thunder forward Andre Roberson. After Green missed his first foul shot, referee Brian Forte gave Westbrook the first technical.
As Westbrook expressed his frustration about the technical foul call, he said "That's b***s***". That was apparently enough for Forte to give him a second technical, resulting in the automatic ejection. Westbrook kept repeating his "B.S" complaint as he headed off the court and into the locker room.
Was this another case of a referee being overly sensitive? The first technical was certainly Forte's discretion, but you have to give Westbrook a chance to vent a little after that. By our estimation, the second technical came about 8 seconds after the first one. That seems a little unreasonable for any player, but especially a superstar like Westbrook, who fans are paying good money to see.
Westbrook finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and no assists. Without Westbrook the rest of the way, the Thunder had no chance, as the Grizzlies blew them out with a 114-80 victory.
[SI]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
