Amir Johnson Throws Mouthpiece at Referee David Jones (VIDEO)
by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Needless to say, Amir Johnson will soon find himself in a world of trouble with the NBA.
In a wholly bizarre scene last night in Portland, during yet another frustrating Toronto Raptors defeat (that ended their 0-5 road trip in the worst way possible), Johnson lost his mind after being ejected, proceeding to throw his mouthpiece at referee David Jones.
According to published reports and the Blazers’ TV broadcasters, the mouthpiece struck Jones in the back as he chatted with Raptors head coach Dwane Casey.
Following the game, Amir Johnson explained himself.
Per the Toronto Sun and Star:
“It’s out of character, my teammates know me, fans know me if they’ve been watching my career, I never lose my cool,” said Johnson. “I never say anything to the ref or get mad, the only techs I ever got were for hanging on the rim or slapping the backboard. Before every free throw, I always go rub the ball and give it right back to the ref. The ref didn’t let me have the ball and we kind of got into a tug of war. No words were really said and from then on he ejected me out of the game and I kind of lost my cool from there.”
It came at the worst possible time for the Raptors, who lost Andrea Bargnani to an elbow injury after just eight minutes and Kyle Lowry to an injury to his right triceps that sidelined him for the second half. [...] Johnson knows the mouthpiece toss could be trouble for him. “I’m going to accept the consequences,” Johnson said. “Whatever happens, happens. Like I said, I apologize if I hurt anybody or did anything wrong. But it is what it is.”
Expect the League to act swiftly, and harshly.
Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.