It was a frustrating night for the Grizzlies. Well, what can we expect out of a contest against the lethal OKC Thunder? The number 1 side in the league decimated the home team on both ends of the court. Despite having Zach Edey and Jaren Jackson Jr. on the team, somehow every rebound landed on Isaiah Hartenstein’s hand. And we can’t stress enough about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & his offensive partners. By now, you’d have guessed the game result. A blowout loss. But it wasn’t the only issue.

One of the Grizzlies fans was ejected with minutes remaining in the game. It wasn’t the securities who took the call as they do usually. We have seen many instances where the security drives fans out of the arena because of their unruly behavior. This time, it was the refs who ejected the fan like they usually eject the players and coaches. Strange right? Well, it’s not something that has not happened in the past.

On multiple occasions, refs have ejected fans for heckling players. Tonight, it was different, and let’s find out. The ejected fan was none other than Ja Morant‘s dad, Tee Morant. With two minutes left in the game, the Grizzlies were trailing by 15 points. At that time, there was a brief pause in the game. One of the refs approached the security officials in the arena and forced them to eject Morant Sr.

The officials slowly approached Tee Morant, and everyone in the arena looked at the incident cluelessly. When the officials passed on the message, the star guard’s father stood up and walked out with a smile on his face, while the crowd booed the referees.

Following the game, the much-anticipated pool report dropped, reasoning the ejection. The refs’ crew chief Josh Tiven, addressing the controversial decision, said, “The fan continued to repeat overtly disrespectful statements about the integrity of the officiating crew, so as the Crew Chief I approached security and asked that he be removed.” That’s not something new. Whenever a whistle blew on SGA’s play, a frustrated fan blames it on the ref. It’s a never-ending saga. Ironically, the Grizzlies received more FTs than the Thunder.

Ja Morant’s reaction to his father’s ejection

Tee Morant isn’t new to courtside controversies. Two seasons ago, he engaged in a heated altercation with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe at the Staples Center courtside. The refs and players had to intervene and separate the duo. However, the old heads immediately resolved the issue, as they hugged it out at the courtside.

Tonight, something similar seemed to have happened. We can’t quite confirm as there aren’t visuals proving that Tee Morant spoke “disrespectful statements” at the refs. Leave us out. Even his own son, who was playing on the court, didn’t see it. A reporter asked if he had any idea about his father’s ejection and Ja Morant said, “He probably got kicked out so I didn’t… He probably was complaining about something to the ref.”

Anyway, what do you make of the decision? Should the refs really care about what the fans say? Aren’t fans part of the whole basketball viewing experience? What is your take? Do you feel the refs’ decision was right? Let us know in the comments below.