After two years away from the professional game, referee Eric Lewis is back in the NBA officiating fold.
The NBA is reinstating Lewis to its officiating pool with immediate effect, it announced Friday afternoon. Lewis will begin officiating G League games this weekend, and could potentially return as an NBA official.
Lewis, 54, retired in Aug. 2023 amid a highly public investigation into allegations he used a burner account on Twitter. As part of the conditions of his return, Lewis—who has worked in college basketball since his retirement—agreed to take part in the NBA's renewed investigation, undergo social-media use training, and seek stress-management counseling.
"We are confident (Lewis) has learned from that experience and can properly serve the game again," NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell said in a statement via veteran league insider Marc Stein, noting the league found Lewis's actions "did not impact his ability to officiate games fairly and with integrity."
Lewis previously officiated 1,161 regular-season games from 2005 to '23.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
- Nikola Jokic Broke a Record Long-Held By One of the Greatest Players Of All Time
- New Video Makes Dillon Brooks’s Cheap Shot at Steph Curry Look Even Worse
- NBA Trade Season Has Arrived: Six Teams That Could Buy or Sell at the Deadline
- All the Best Dunks From a Busy NBA Thursday Slate
- Fans Couldn’t Believe Lightning Fast Ausar Thompson Ejection for ‘Contact With Official’
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ex-NBA Referee Eric Lewis Returns to Officiating Two Years After Investigation.