Referee Scott Foster under fire over NBA Finals Game 4, Indiana Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle calls backlash “stupid” | NBA News
Amidst a tough season in the NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle has stood up for referee Scott Foster after NBA fans started calling him out in recently held Game 4 of the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He called the online hate that he has been receiving “stupid.” The issue arose due to a missed call between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana Pacers’ Rick Carlisle defends referee Scott Foster
Indiana Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle believed the online hate that referee Scott Foster had been receiving was unfair. He also believed Foster has been a brilliant referee and has done a commendable job during the playoffs. As per ESPN, before the Indiana Pacers went to practice on Sunday afternoon, Carlisle said, “It’s awful what some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating and Scott Foster in particular. He’s a great official, he’s done a great job in this playoffs.“Carlisle said, “We’ve had him a lot of times. And this ridiculous scrutiny that’s being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.”Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder’s coach, Mark Daigneault responded to the entire situation, stating, “There were a crap ton of fouls. That’s why there were a crap ton of free throws, I thought the refs did a good job tonight. Both teams shot a lot of free throws. It was physical. That was what the game was. It was a physical game on both ends of the floor for both teams.”The issue erupted when in about two minutes that were left in the game, fans were upset over a possible missed call. What happened was Oklahoma City Thunder’s star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to have pushed Indiana Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith. It led to Alexander scoring a point. The Thunder also had a solid win in the game. Meanwhile, fans were quick enough to react to the controversy. A fan said,“He historically makes dogshit calls and holds particular players far less accountable for the same actions. There are literal stats about CP3 doing significantly worse in games officiated by Foster. Dudes ass.”Another fan said, “The fact that there are so many complaints that this was necessary is telling. Pull Scott for the remainder of the finals and do an investigation.” Another fan reacted, saying, “I wish Carlisle was as weak as Minnesota’s and Denver’s coaches, blaming refs and claiming they can’t get calls. He will have his team ready for tomorrow, instead of his team whining about calls they will play hard. I want OKC to win but I respect Carlisle so much as a coach.”Also Read: “Trying To Make Our Own History” – Indiana Pacers Forward Aaron Nesmith Speaks His Mind On Team’s Journey Reminding Of Hollywood ClassicNow, all eyes are on Game 5 of the NBA Finals. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
