Scottie Barnes is a talkative player. The Toronto Raptors star forward has never been afraid to speak his mind while on the court. However, that controversially got him in trouble during their last game against the Denver Nuggets. Barnes, frustrated by a call on Jakob Poeltl, appeared to say “Y'all are cheating”. That seemingly angered head referee Scott Foster, who promptly ejected Scottie Barnes. After the one-point loss, Scott Foster explained the rationale behind Scottie Barnes' ejection in the pool report, per Mike Singer.

Scott Foster: “He (Scottie Barnes) was ejected on one technical foul because he used verbiage that which directly questioned the integrity of the crew,”

Barnes also talked about the bizarre ejection, saying this about the end of the Raptors game.

Barnes on ejection vs. Nuggets: “I was just saying something to myself and then I guess he took offense to it. So he just threw me out the game. I was just like talking to myself.”

The Raptors forward's ejection was puzzling at best and downright unacceptable at worst. It's one thing to make a bad call, but to eject a player (on one technical foul, too!) in the most pivotal moment of the game is just a bad look for the referees.

NBA referees have been under scrutiny since time immemorial, but it seems to have been amplified over the last few seasons. Scott Foster himself has his fair share of controversy. His involvement with Tim Donaghy and the peculiar relationship with Chris Paul makes him one of the more disliked referees in the league, both by players and fans.

Scottie Barnes and the Raptors will have to put this tough loss behind them and prepare for a game against a familiar foe. They face the Clippers in a couple of days. The fight for a Play-In tournament continues for Toronto.