NBA player ejected...or not?
 

Just saw the highlights of the OKC-Houston game. Hasheem Thabeet gets ejected for pushing one of the officials during a scrum under the hoop. The official immedately T's him up and tosses him. The 3 officials get together and discuss the situation and then decide to recind the ejection. I been an official for 20 yrs. High school and some small local college but I don't follow the NBA at all. Is there an NBA rule that allows for that type of call to be overturned?

All ejections are subject to review (I think except for something like getting two T's for something such as arguing a play). A player is only ejected after confirmation from replay. The officials on the court have the right to upgrade or downgrade a technical foul.

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Can't see the push on the official. Caption on video reads he gets ejected for trash talking.

I put a better clip up showing the "push."

That video doesn't show what Thabeet did or didn't do.

Do you think he even knew it was an official he was pushing? Looks like he wasn't even looking.

That would be my guess as to why they would change it. He uses his right foreare/hand to "clear out" the person infront of him, but never looks to see who it is. His eyes never leave the player he's fighting with.

Doesn't look like it...I think downgrading this action to just a T and no ejection is fine.

Probably not.

My question is ... does that matter?

When I first posted the clip, it didn't have that contact visible in it. I since then went and changed the clip which is the one you're viewing.

I would think so, especially if that's the reason he was ejected. At least two others were laying hands on him - including the official, and he just pushes back. If it was another player laying hands on him, maybe just outside his peripheral vision, and he did this, he wouldn't have gotten ejected.

Mark Davis can be a little quick on the trigger and he issued a T to Reggie Evans of the Clippers in the playoffs last year that was just absurd IMO.

Nice job here to rescind the T IMO. I like the fact that the NBA allows use of replay to get calls like this right.

In HS where an ejection can cost a player to miss additional games I think we need to be 100% sure that the action warrants that kind of penalty.

Here, I don't think Thabeets actions warranted an ejection.

APG changed the video.

Hmm... and why is pushing back OK?

Here is how I interpret this video.

A1 is in a physical scrum with B1 in front of him. From behind and to the side, R1 come in and puts his hands on A1. A1 is basically reacting to this contact/physical touching by pushing away as if to say, "get your hands off me," not knowing its an official. Hence why I was taught to avoid touching players or getting in a melee.

I'm not saying it's right to touch an official. I'm saying it was more instinctual and he may not have known it to be an official......although that whistle was blowing a lot!