Pair of former Louisville basketball stars voice issues with referees

It was quite the interesting night for NBA referees on Wednesday with a pair of odd encounters with former Louisville basketball stars.

Donovan Mitchell and Montrezl Harrell, two of Louisville basketball’s most esteemed stars in the NBA, were under the microscope for a couple of different run-ins with referees on Wednesday evening.

Philadelphia’s NBC Sports announcers interestingly took the ejection the route of Mitchell acting out of selfishness towards the end of this clip. Mitchell, a player who very rarely loses his cool on or off the floor, is certainly far from a “look at me” player. That idea in itself is ridiculous.

Maybe it was bad timing by Mitchell. But that should not be enough to label the two technical fouls as more than what they are. We don’t even know what the technicals were about other than Mitchell voicing frustration to the officials calling the game.

He further sounded off after the game as well.

That’s not something you hear from Mitchell often. Complaining about anything is way outside of Mitchell’s element and you can tell there is some hesitation in his voice as he sounded off in his postgame press conference. Clearly, if he’s the one sounding off, there are probably some large underlying issues.

Mitchell wasn’t the only former Cardinal having a tough time with refs

Current Los Angeles Lakers forward Montrezl Harrell was slapped with a technical foul for one of the oddest things you’ll ever see.

This one is a real doozy. In this clip, you can hear and see exactly what happens with Harrell as he receives the technical. Of recent, yelling “and one” on a perceived foul has become common-place for a ton of basketball players at all levels. Never has it ever warranted a technical… before now.

One of Harrell’s staples in his game is the ability to show passion and effort on the floor. That mentality has stretched back to his time at Louisville. Taking that away from him is a tragedy. I mean, just look at his face when he gets “T’d” up. He’s confused and his body language says the same thing.

Two of the more respected players in the NBA are former Cardinals. But both are clearly unhappy with NBA officiating. Doing so on the same night seems to suggest that the problems are becoming overbearing to the point where emotions are boiling over from players.

Let’s help Donovan Mitchell and Montrezl Harrell out. The NBA needs a massive overhaul to officiating.