NBA referee Joey Crawford announces he’ll retire – and Twitter reacts

Longtime NBA referee Joey Crawford announced this season, his 39th, will be his last. “I’m done,” the Philadelphia native told the Delaware County Daily Times.

Crawford, 64, is recuperating from knee surgery and said he hopes to be back on the court March 1, and possibly work playoff games.

The reaction on Twitter was mostly a blend of relief, snark (on Twitter, imagine that) and a scattered helping of props for such a long career.

Here’s a small sampling:

Crawford famously ejects San Antonio’s Tim Duncan for excessive laughing on the Spurs’ bench:

No one can interrupt a free throw like Crawford (Exhibit A):

And Exhibit B:

A jump ball is apparently a lot more complicated than it appears:

Even a court-mopper could raise Crawford’s ire:

Compiled by Jeff Caraska

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 2:24 PM with the headline "NBA referee Joey Crawford announces he’ll retire – and Twitter reacts."