ORLANDO, Fla. — In a night of missed shots and questionable calls, the Orlando Magic lost Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The action of one referee really has fans talking.
REF THROWS BALL: Watch Raw Video | See Images
That ref got upset and threw a ball at a fan (raw video | images), all over something pretty typical for the NBA: a fan heckling the ref over a call.
Fans had reason to be upset Tuesday night. The Magic lost 95-92 amid a myriad of questionable calls. The team is now down 0-2 in the series.
The fan involved in the altercation released a statement Wednesday and his wife told WFTV he's embarrassed about the whole thing.
Refvsfan051810-4 Refvsfan051810-4 REF THROWS BALL: Raw Video | Images Franz Hanning, who is a big Magic fan and president and CEO of Wyndham Timeshares, was angry about a non-call on what he thought was a travel by Celtics guard Rajon Rondo and walked towards the refs at the scorer's table as the first half ended. Hanning yelled at them for not calling a foul and the ref suddenly threw the ball at him. Hanning quickly threw it back and then the ref wanted him out of the arena.
Veteran referee Joe DeRosa called NBA security. Hanning's wife told WFTV that Orlando Magic COO Alex Martins got involved and Hanning and his wife had to leave their courtside seats to sit somewhere else for the second half of the game.
Considering what the NBA code of conduct says about ejecting fans, it almost seems as though the ref baited Hanning by throwing the ball to him. The code says guests who fight, throw things, or try to enter the court will be immediately ejected from the game.
Wednesday afternoon, Hanning released the following statement via email: "As many people in Orlando know, I am a huge fan of NBA basketball and especially my home team the Orlando Magic. I think the NBA officials do a great job. I'm looking forward to the Magic going to Boston and evening up the series."
DeRosa has refereed more than 1,000 games, dozens of playoff games and about a half dozen NBA Finals. WFTV checked NBA records and it doesn't appear that DeRosa has been unfair to the Magic. He's refereed three of the Magic's playoff games this post-season and the Magic won two of those three games with fewer fouls called against them than their opponents in all three of the games. Tuesday night, more than half of the fouls called were against the Celtics.
WFTV contacted NBA headquarters in New York and the referee's union, but by early Wednesday evening hadn't heard back..
The Magic travels to Boston for games three and four of the series (Saturday and Monday respectively). If the Magic wins one of those two games, it will return to Orlando for game five on Wednesday, May 26.
WFTV
