Richard Jefferson is a respected NBA veteran who now finds himself in the analyst chair with ESPN. During his time at ESPN, he has co-hosted various shows and there is no doubt that he is one of the most knowledgeable men out there. He has a curiosity for the game that knows no boundaries, and recently, he decided to try his hand at being a referee.
Over the course of the last week, Jefferson attended officiating conferences in Las Vegas that were being held as part of the Summer League. This eventually led to an officiating gig for last night’s tilt between the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers.
Unfortunately, for Jefferson, his time as an official got off to a very rocky start as he botched his first call and had it overturned. This led to some boos, although he took it all in stride.
.@Rjeff24 changed his first-ever call as an NBA official 😅 pic.twitter.com/F9ffWzUs79
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/CooperHalpern/status/1546699720235528192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1546699720235528192%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotnewhiphop.com%2Frichard-jefferson-jeered-after-having-first-referee-call-reversed-news.154943.html
Jefferson didn’t seem too bothered as by the end of the evening, he was telling the other officials just how much he loved it. After all, being in that kind of control from a former player’s perspective must be a whole lot of fun.
"This is fun. I can see why this is addicting."@Rjeff24 was mic'd up during his NBA referee debut 👏😅 pic.twitter.com/tZOwvynP4q
— ESPN (@espn) July 12, 2022
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