Chris Paul was compelled to exit the match on Wednesday evening in Phoenix, as the Warriors player was given two technical fouls and was thrown out during the final minute of the second quarter. It was Paul’s long-standing rival Scott Foster who imposed those technical fouls, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com.
“It’s a private matter,” Paul declared. “We encountered a situation a few years back and it’s personal. The league is aware. Everyone knows about it. There have been discussions and such. … I don’t mind a referee expressing their thoughts, but don’t resort to issuing a technical foul to make your point.”
While Paul’s teammates and head coach Steve Kerr generally conceded that the seasoned guard deserved his initial technical foul for protesting a foul call, they disputed Foster’s decision to give a second technical shortly after. In a post-game comment, Foster explained that both technical fouls were for “unsportsmanlike conduct” (Check Twitter via Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports).
“I didn’t believe Chris deserved to be ejected,” Kerr stated. “The first tech, definitely. But in my opinion, the second one was uncalled for. Everyone gets frustrated on the court.”
“When both player and ref are in conversation, that should remain between them,” noted Stephen Curry. “I conveyed that to Scott after he expelled him. There are instances where players go too far. There are times when you need to step back. But when both are in a dialogue, I’m not a fan of that.”
According to the details by Andrews, the teams led by Paul suffered 13 consecutive defeats when Foster was the head official, and Paul has a 3-17 playoff record in games refereed by Foster. CP3’s teams were predicted to win in 15 out of those 20 games,
as per Tom Habertstroh (Substack link).
Andrews suggested that the animosity between Paul and Foster might have roots in the guard’s time with the Clippers. Paul mentioned a particular incident involving his son and Foster from that era during a media briefing after Wednesday’s loss. He indicated that this led to a meeting that included him, his father, Foster, and former Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, among others (Watch Twitter video via NBC Sports Bay Area).
Paul chose not to delve deeper into the incident, implying that he must be wary of finding himself in situations that could lead to penalties in future games officiated by Foster.
“I need to enhance my capability to remain composed for my teammates, but that’s just how things are,” he remarked, according to Andrews. “I will probably face [Foster] in a decisive Game 7 sometime soon.”
Image Credit: Chris Paul / Instagram
