NBA Referee Courtney Kirkland suspended for altercation with Shaun Livingston

NBA Referee Courtney Kirkland and Shaun Livingston have both been disciplined by the league after an altercation between the two on Sunday. Kirkland has been removed from the NBA’s officiating rotation until Dec. 10 and Livingston will be suspended for tonight’s Warriors game against the Pelicans.

The altercation between the two began with Livingston arguing against a non-call made by Kirkland. He slowly approached the referee, initially, but never made contact before Kirkland walked closer to Livingston and bumped heads with him.

Here’s another look at the full play.

Livingston was given a technical foul and ejected from the game after the incident for making contact with an official. But, upon further review, the league seems to have determined Kirkland was the more guilty party.

After Livingston’s initial approach, Kirkland got in his face and initiated the headbutt between the two. Livingston wasn’t right, but the contact wouldn’t have been initiated if not for Kirkland’s actions.

This isn’t the first time the league has suspended a referee for an altercation with a player. Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely by the league in 2007 after an altercation with Tim Duncan where he challenged the Spurs’ star to a fight. But this is certainly the most recent situation and, maybe, the most physical.

He’s the fourth player to be ejected in one week and the third player in that same span to be ejected for the first time in his career. Among the others are LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant.

Though Livingston’s ejection seemed to be warranted because of the contact made, players haven’t been ejected for similar behavior in the past. The league seems to be cracking down on over-the-top complaints and behavior from NBA players. We’ll see if this changes the way the players and officials communicate going forward.