Golden State Warriors star Chris Paul has had a longstanding rivalry with NBA referee Scott Foster for quite some time now. And their rivalry grew even more after Paul was ejected by Foster in Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns.
For those not familiar with the animosity between Foster and Paul, it is largely due to a statistic in playoff games that Foster has officiated that Paul has also played in.
Of the 17 postseason games that Foster has refereed of Paul’s, Paul’s team holds just a 3-17 record. This is something that Paul has referenced in the past.
In a 2021 interview from Paul after a postseason loss, Paul continued to reference that it was the 11th consecutive loss in games that Foster has officiated, hinting that he feels like Foster is officiating his teams unfairly.
Wednesday’s game created a new chapter in the feud between the two. The incident stemmed from Paul being issued a foul on a shot from Kevin Durant, a foul call that Paul took exception to.
As Durant went to the free-throw line, Paul continued to argue the call. This led to Foster issuing him a technical foul. Paul continued on to protest the call to Foster. And in just seconds, Paul was issued a second technical foul, ejecting him from the game.
Chris Paul was ejected after this exchange with Scott Foster pic.twitter.com/NBAJMUdFfr
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 23, 2023
It certainly seemed like a rash decision from Foster. But this wasn’t the end of the interaction. Paul then went on to shout some pretty harsh profanities at Foster before walking off the court.
https://twitter.com/BadSportsRefs/status/1727545809590157339
I’m no expert at lip reading, but it is pretty clear what Paul said in this clip…
I’ll leave that up for interpretation, but it was very clear that Paul yet again felt like Foster was officiating him unfairly.
It’s safe to say these two will not be hanging around each other off the court anytime soon…
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.