Following his ejection on Monday night, Los Angeles Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell took to Twitter to lambaste the officials for throwing him out of the game late in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trailblazers.
Lmao a flagrant 2 and ejected lmao good job ššæ šš
ā Montrezl Harrell (@MONSTATREZZ) December 18, 2018
So we didnāt watch the video of me jumping straight up him pull my arm the same arm that supposed hit him in face lol wow
ā Montrezl Harrell (@MONSTATREZZ) December 18, 2018
The referees decided to give Harrell the early night off after he appeared to inadvertently hit Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic with an elbow in the face while fighting for a rebound underneath the hoop.
Watch the play for yourself, and be the judge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X66RSPAUG-Q
The former second round pick was obviously up-in-arms with the call, and immediately sprinted off the floor in shock after hearing about his ejection. Clippers announcers on the broadcast were also surprised about the call.
Harrell was called for a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2, which warrants an automatic ejection. According to the official NBA Rules and Regulations, āwhen a player seeks out an opponent and throws an elbow which makes any contact above the shoulders, a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 will be assessed.ā
The referees were most likely just abiding by the rule book here, hence the reason why they opted to eject the 6-foot-8 big man out of the contest.
Still, the call is questionable, to say the least, since the whole sequence looked like a normal, physical basketball play between two players jockeying for position. However, the hit did seem unintentional, and it was just unfortunate for Harrell's part that his elbow hit Nurkic square on the jaw and knocked him on the floor.
It remains to be seen whether the NBA would review the play and rescind the penalty 2 foul. However, it looks like Harrell may have to pay a fine after publicly ripping the officials on the questionable call.
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