New York Knicks co-commentator Walt Frazier could have landed himself in trouble after describing NBA female official Lauren Holtkamp as “nice looking”.
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This isn’t the first time Holtkamp has been in the headlines this season, after Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul stated that “this might not be for her” after criticising her calls in a game she was officiating.
While CP3 made it clear that it had nothing to do with her gender, it didn’t stop a row from breaking out which eventually resulted in Paul being fined and the league moving on.
However, Frazier has risked bringing fresh controversy to the league by describing Holtkamp as “nice looking” after lead commentator Mike Breen insisted that she has impressed with her officiating.
Breen was clearly embarrassed by his colleague’s comment and replied with “No, no, no, no” in an attempt to prevent him from saying anything else, but it hasn’t stopped the backlash with Frazier’s comment described as inappropriate and out of touch.
Many will argue that it was merely an innocent comment from a 69-year-old man not particularly thinking before he said it, but that won’t stop others from jumping all over him and creating a sexism row.
It certainly makes Holtkamp’s job more difficult given that she would want to focus on her officiating skills and not the way she looks, and so it remains to be seen if any action is taken.
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