The NBA can’t get enough of Twitter burner accounts. Players and general managers have gotten in on the act. And now a referee has gotten in on the act. Official Eric Lewis was busted for sending Tweets under the handle @CuttliffBlair and is currently under investigation. As for why he or others in basketball do this, well, no one really knows.
Let’s start with the obvious. Nobody wins using Twitter. It is literally just people shouting loudly at one another in hopes that someone likes what you are yelling. I have tried to get into Twitter, and it just sucks butt. You lose time and gain nothing in return. And now it is run by a clueless prick pandering to America’s stupidest group.
But back to the NBA and Twitter burner accounts. Lewis creating a fake profile just to shout at randos online about the work of him and his colleagues is baffling. There is nothing to be gained from doing this. Did he really think other users would be down to listen to a stranger defend referees and walk away with a changed opinion?
Also, doesn’t Lewis have anything else better going on in his life? The amount of replies he has sent over the years is staggering. Especially considering the only thing he did was wade into conversations about his job. Having in-depth Twitter arguments about basketball referees on the regular seems like a cruel form of torture.
Of course, Lewis isn’t the only person in NBA history with a Twitter burner account. Former Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Bryan Colangelo was fired after someone uncovered his five burners. Sorry, they belonged to “his wife”. Either way, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who left with a changed mind after interacting with one of his fake profiles. It was nothing but an exercise in futility.
There is also the case of Kevin Durant who accidentally posted responses to criticism of him via his real account instead of a burner. That ordeal was not only embarrassing but totally unnecessary. One of the sport’s best players doesn’t need to be in the weeds with a bunch of Twitter jerks who live solely for disagreeing with people and spitting bad takes. But if you must do it, use two different phones.
The NBA can’t get enough of Twitter burner accounts, but those in the league should know better. Regardless of if they get exposed or not, no one wins.
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