The reasons why Chris Paul was by no means in the wrong for criticizing referee Lauren Holtkamp are simple. Sometimes people can be too hasty to jump to the conclusion that any criticism of women in sport is because of their gender when in actual fact they are forgetting that in cases like this, gender does not even have to be part of the equation. And when Chris Paul, the head of the National Basketball Players Association and a widely respected figure around the league, makes a comment about a referee, it should be acknowledged that unless he specifies otherwise, any criticism he makes will be coming from a purely professional standpoint.

Paul has now been fined $25,000, and the National Basketball Referees Association has announced that they believe his comments towards Holtkamp were "personal and unprofessional." However, the executive director of the the National Basketball Players Association, Michele Roberts, was quick to defend him, stating that the idea of Paul's being disrespectful toward women is "utterly ridiculous, outrageous and patently false".

First and foremost, Paul is a competitor, and a furious one at that. No matter how well-spoken he may be off the court, he has a competitive nature and desire to win that is not just going to let him shy away. Sometimes, even the most well-tempered players can lose their calm if they believe the wrong call has been given, and that is precisely what the situation was with Paul and Holtkamp in the Los Angeles Clippers 105-94 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

By the second half, the Clippers were trailing by 23 points, so of course they needed to save every second they could by getting the ball up the court as quickly as possible. When Holtkamp had an issue with an inbounds play from Matt Barnes, Paul responded by asking what the problem was and instantly received a technical. After the game, Paul had the following remarks for reporters:

"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."

The exchange between Paul and Holtkamp seemed extremely brief before she walked off to give him the technical foul, and it was only after the foul was given that Paul appeared to raise his voice or speak in such a way that could warrant a technical.

If a player asks a referee what a foul was actually given for in a well-mannered way, rather than merely shouting in complaint, then it should be taken as a fair comment by the ref.

Regardless of whether the call was fair though, it was not hard to see that Paul did nothing more than react to the heat of the moment, and he did not make such a response because of her gender.

More fouls ensued, and with 9:30 left in the third quarter, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan received a technical when he screamed for a foul after a dunk.

"I guess she thought I was talking to her. We talked about it. She said that she thought I was talking to her. She made a call, and I talked to the other refs, and they disagreed with it."

Ultimately, it is the fact that Paul would have responded in the same way to any ref that should clear his name of any accusations insinuating that he criticised her based on gender. With the odds stacked against them (down by more than 20 points in Cleveland and giving the Cavaliers 44 shots from the charity stripe), it should be expected that Paul would react to such an instant and relatively harsh technical. When someone's competitive spirit boils over, it is only natural the he question such a call.

In regards to his comments after the game, the situation is no different. If a male referee had made a call that Paul so strongly disagreed with, do we really think he would not voice his opinion in a postgame interview? Exactly.

It is common knowledge that the NBA has become softer since the 1980's and 90's. The Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" reigned supreme as the toughest defense the league had seen, and gritty, intense defense was the norm in professional basketball. So for the fan who is forced to reminisce about the NBA's glory days, some physical passion and aggression are a breath of fresh air.

This is exacltly how Clippers forward Matt Barnes feels about the game:

"The first one [technical against the Cavaliers] I'm guarding someone who outweighs me by 40 pounds, and he makes a spin move and I slap down on the ball so he doesn't get an and-1, and he held my arm and I tried to pull my arm back, and I get a T... The second one when they called Jamal [Crawford] for running into LeBron [James], I said, 'Just don't give them the game,' and they kicked me out... If you can't play with emotion, I don't see how you can play."

Whether the referee was male or female, Paul would have acted in the same way during the game and in the interview that followed. Even though saying "this might not be for her" might be slightly over the top when referring to Holtkamp's future as an NBA referee, it is safe to say that Paul would have said the exact same thing about a male ref as well.

All Paul and Barnes did on the court was show some passion and emotion, which quite frankly the NBA could benefit from. Paul merely let that passion and competitiveness out by voicing his opinion, which is something that would have happened regardless of the referee's gender.

There's no need to start accusing the man of sexism, so let's just get back to basketball.

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About the author
Tom West
Third year English Language the University of Winchester and an NBA writer for VAVEL USA.