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A statement from the NBA said that Lewis
retired "effective immediately."
"In light of his decision, the NBA's investigation into social
media activity has been closed," the league said.
Lewis, 52, worked more than 1,200 games in 19 seasons in the
league. His last assignment was on May 16 for Game 1 of the
Western Conference finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los
Angeles Lakers.
However, he was facing discipline from the league if
investigators connected him as the owner to the Twitter account
@CuttliffBlair.
Lewis was not among 12 officials selected to work the NBA Finals
while the league investigated.
The account was brought to light by Twitter user @PabloEscoburner
in May. The account @CuttliffBlair was created in November 2015
and, according to screengrabs posted by PabloEscoburner, had
been a constant defender of Lewis and NBA officiating overall,
responding to negative tweets and highlighting Lewis' work.
When PabloEscoburner first tweeted about the account and a
possible link to Lewis, CuttliffBlair replied that the account
was run by Lewis' older brother, Mark. PabloEscoburner then
showed the account as deleted later in the day.
Of note, the account followed six users: PabloEscoburner, four
NBA-related accounts (@RefAnalytics, @OfficialNBARefs, @NBA and
@NBAOfficial), and @MasonWBB -- the official account of George
Mason women's basketball. Eric Lewis' wife, Vanessa Blair-Lewis,
is the head coach at George Mason.
--Field Level Media
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