On April 14 Tim Duncan was ejected from a spurs game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Why?

For laughing on the Bench.

To be fair, Duncan has been known to pester, whine or throw his arms up in frustration over a call, but remember... Magic Johnson could be called the biggest complainer of them all - and don’t forget Michael Jordan’s patent finger point, death stare and sometimes quick as a dart flare up during play off time.

But what’s the problem here… With the NBA cleanup, the League project and the NBA giving the officials more power in this year's zero tolerance rule aimed at players attempting to challenge calls, some would argue the league gave officials a machine gun when they already had a shot gun.

The issue is after receiving this ejection, Tim Duncan complained that Joey Crawford had a vendetta against him. Joey went as far as challenging Duncan to a fight. Had Duncan pulled out a can of WHUP #$@# it would have been Duncan facing penalties not Crawford. Are refs letting personal dislike affect the integrity of the game?

After Kobe received a string of flagrant 1’s, Phil Jackson made similar statements.

"It shouldn't even have been a flagrant 1," Jackson said Tuesday. "That's crazy. That's a vendetta. They have a witch hunt going on. Its nuts. Guys riding somebody - everybody does that in this league. It's just becoming a witch hunt now."

Iverson made similar comments earlier this season but most wrote him off because, well, it’s Iverson. He's got tattoos, he’s aggressive, he fits the stereotype of the anti establishment so he just might have done something wrong. Kobe is Kobe: greatness personified. But some perceive him as aloof and arrogant, so some might feel Kobe deserved those flagrant 1's.

But Tim Duncan…Mr. Professional! As Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) would say, "the Big Fundamental" (Shaq's nickname for Tim Duncan). As in proper technique, he says the right thing and refuses to be the anti establishment.

This brings the question, is it the league that dislikes the players that represent them or is it the players that misrepresent the league? Probably a little bit of both.

Joey Crawford may have his reasons. We will never know. Tim Duncan may come off as having a little too much thug in him so Joey decided to pull out his can of whup A!@$! And challenge him to a fight. It's a good thing Tim refused to let it get personal and resort any of Fifty's (rapper 50 Cent) tactics and bum rush him under the arena. Nevertheless, maybe the NBA should start questioning all of the officials before allowing them to officiate in an NBA game. It might include questions such as:

How do you feel about Allan Iverson?

Who is your favorite player?

Do you have personal issues that will affect you in officiating an NBA game?

If ever frustrated will you challenge the Big Fundamental to a fight?

…Fifty would be proud