Referee Eric Lewis, under investigation, will not work NBA Finals

NBA referee Eric Lewis, under investigation for the potential use of a burner Twitter account to defend himself and other officials, will not be working the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.

On Thursday morning, the NBA released the roster of the 12 officials who will work the championship games and Lewis was not on the list. Based on previous experience and playoff grades, Lewis would have made the cut, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

Lewis had previously officiated games in each of the last four NBA Finals.

“Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter and he will not be working the Finals,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told the Associated Press on Thursday.

The league has not indicated any potential timetable for the completion of the investigation and has not commented on any potential discipline. The investigation is likely looking into the potential violation of a rule that prohibits referees from publicly commenting on officiating matters without proper league approval.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off Thursday night in Denver at 8:30 p.m. ET.

SPORTS NEWSLETTER: Sign up to get the latest news and features sent directly to your inbox

What are the allegations against Eric Lewis?

The NBA opened an investigation Monday into Lewis and the Twitter account @CuttliffBlair. In dozens of tweets, the account posted replies to several messages that had been critical of Lewis and several other NBA referees.

The Twitter account had been momentarily deactivated after the potential link to Lewis was discovered, but it was then reactived as of Monday morning. The link came to light May 25 after a Twitter user found the Blair…