Longtime NBA referee Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely by the NBA for giving a second technical foul to Tim Duncan while he was on the bench, and then allegedly challenging him to fight. Duncan was ejected from the game and the opposing Dallas Mavericks rallied to win the game. This act is arguably the single stupidest thing to happen in the NBA, apart from the fights between the Pistons and Pacers a while back and the Nuggets and Knicks more recently.

The suspension suggests one of two things: Either the league found there was sufficient evidence that Crawford was not acting appropriately and did challenge Duncan to a fight or it was done solely for public relations purposes. I'm more inclined to believe the former situation since the NBA doesn't want their officials being pushed around just based on accusations by players.

If Joey Crawford did actually commit the acts he's been accused of, he must not have his head on straight. Crawford would've made these comments in front of numerous people, including broadcasters, journalists, coaches and players. There would have been numerous witnesses to this act and it might have even been shown on television. It's not like nobody except Duncan would've heard the altercation go down.

Secondly, what would he have been thinking challenging Tim Duncan, of all players, to a fight? Duncan was voted as a starter for the Western Conference All-Stars, a former league MVP and has played on an NBA Championship team. Duncan has credibility and doesn't normally criticize the officiating.  He's not known as a dirty player, doesn't have a history of discipline problems and has never been a problem in the locker room. Duncan is the kind of player the NBA wants to promote, rather than the ball-hogging, stat-obsessed narcissists whom the NBA has been working to eliminate for much of the post-Jordan era. When a star player like Duncan makes a comment, the league is listening, and they will take notice. It's not like Crawford can push him around like Udonis Haslem or Tyrus Thomas. No offense to either player, but they just don't have the star reputation that Duncan has.

Furthermore, Crawford is a middle-aged man who watches the games and Duncan is a professional athlete in the prime of his career. Notwithstanding his professional accomplishments, he is also 7 feet tall and Crawford, well, he's just a *little* smaller (note sarcasm). Duncan could probably punch the lights out of Crawford without breaking a sweat or being in the same city. I don't mean to disrespect Crawford's physical attributes, but it'd be like putting David Spade up against Ruslan Chagaev (current WBA champion, nicknamed "White Tyson"): As physically fit as Spade may be, I'll place my bets on Chagaev.

And it's not as though star players do not get involved with brawls: Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal was suspended for his role in the Detroit-Indiana brawl and Carmelo Anthony was suspended for throwing punches in the Denver-New York fight.

Maybe Crawford should've challenged Dick Bavetta to a fight. Now I'd pay to see that.