NEW YORK, Jan. 2 (UPI) — An NBA staple will hand over his whistle after this season.
Longtime referee Joey Crawford told the Delaware County Daily Times Friday that he will be retiring at the end of the season.
“I’m done,” Crawford told the Daily Times.
Crawford, 64, has officiated 313 playoff games and 50 NBA Finals games. He is in his 39th season.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Crawford said. “You know what happens? It’s not that you lose your passion. I have that. That’s insanity. But it just comes to the point where you say, ‘I don’t want to make a fool out of myself.’ And it’s been so good that I want to go out on a high note. I don’t want to go out on a low note. I want to be in the NBA Finals, and I don’t want to be reffing just for the sake of reffing.”
Crawford won the Golden Whistle Award from the National Association of Sports Officials in 2014.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.