Stephen Curry saw his team have to chase down a double-digit deficit without Chris Paul on the court during Warriors vs. Suns. Paul had been ejected by referee Scott Foster, someone who has targeted Paul relentlessly over the last decade.
Curry, as well as everyone else, has seen Foster target Paul before and shared his thoughts on what happened between them with a lengthy response.
“I think we were down double digits already, and we obviously needed CP and his leadership and the way he manages the game. I don’t like and appreciate – I know there’s history and all that, I know he talked about it, when both the player and the ref engage in conversation, that has to kind of stay there. I told Scott that after he ejected him. There are certain situations where I know players overstep… But when both are engaged, I don’t like that. That’s the part that messed with me the most when I was watching it. It was two guys talking, speaking their truths. Let’s just play basketball.”
Scott Foster has been one of the most unlikable referees in the NBA ever since his former best friend Tim Donaghy was ousted from the sport for fixing games as a referee. Foster was curiously not punished despite clear evidence of Donaghy and Foster speaking to each other on a daily basis. Foster was cleared of wrongdoing, but fans have had a hard time trusting him ever since.
In the last 9 years, Chris Paul has only won one game where Foster was refereeing, which was Game 2 of the first round last season. That game ended a 13-year losing streak stretching back to 2014 for Paul in games that Foster officiated. This is not a coincidence, as the pair basically have admitted to not liking each other in real life.
