Spurs assistant Becky Hammon defends Chris Paul

The NBA’s lone female assistant coach, Becky Hammon, came to the defense of Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul after he criticized a female official.

Some are trying to turn Chris Paul’s criticism of referee Lauren Holtkamp after the Los Angeles Clippers were hit with five technical fouls in a 105-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night.

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DeAndre Jordan was also teed up by Holtkamp in the game and afterward, Paul was critical of her performance.

“I think we have to show better composure, but at the same time some of [the technical fouls[ were ridiculous,” Paul said Thursday night, via ESPN.com. “The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don’t care what nobody says, I don’t care what she says; that’s terrible.

“There’s no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court and when we did that, she said, ‘Uh-uh.’ I said, ‘Why uh-uh?’ And she gave me a tech. That’s ridiculous. If that’s the case, this might not be for her.”

Of course, it became a thing because it was a male player criticizing a female official. Had it been referees Detric Taylor or Justin Van Duyne—the NBA’s other first-year officials this season—this wouldn’t have blown up into a national story.

For her part, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon—herself the lone woman assistant coach in the league—said there was no way Paul was making a statement about Holtkamp’s gender when he complained about the technical foul.

That was a sentiment echoed by National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts.

Roberts, the first woman to lead a major male professional sports union, works with the union president and got his strong endorsement before she was selected for her post.

That union president? Chris Paul.

“Any suggestion that Chris Paul would ever conduct himself in a disrespectful manner towards women is utterly ridiculous, outrageous and patently false,” Roberts said. “His personal management team, which includes several accomplished women who play a major role in virtually all of his business affairs is, alone, evidence of that fact.

“The Players Association is a strong Exhibit B. Anyone paying attention is aware that Chris and his executive committee colleagues were instrumental in making me the first woman executive director of a major men’s professional sports union. Further, Chris and the committee were nothing but wholly supportive of my recent hire of Chrysa Chin—a woman—was the NBPA’s first ever executive vice president of strategy and development.”

ESPN.com was reporting that the NBA is reviewing Paul’s comments, but a source cited stressed that the review was triggered because of the criticism of officiating, per normal NBA protocols.

Meanwhile, the NBA Referees Association responded, via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:

Not to go all Allen Iverson here, but we’re talkin’ ‘bout pronouns, man. We talkin’ ‘bout pronouns.

Paul said “her” and that has a significant portion of the universe in an uproar.

If anything, we should be looking at this as a seminal moment in gender relations. Chris Paul criticized Lauren Holtkamp’s call—the same way countless other male referees have had calls criticized by players.

There’s really nothing to see here, people.

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