Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Orlando, May 20, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The NBA is looking into a strange encounter that took place between the referee and a fan among the audience on Wednesday. The incident occurred during the halftime of the ongoing game between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. According to reports, the referee of the game, Joe DeRosa, threw a ball at one of the fans, Franz Hanning, who threw it back. Although it did not seem that the encounter was anything malignant, Joe DeRosa called for the security guards right after he caught the ball. The security guards did not ask Franz Hanning to leave the audience gallery, but merely relocated him to another seat.

According to the reports of the eyewitnesses, the whole incident was somewhat confusing, and it is difficult to obtain a clear report of what exactly took place. Apparently, Joe DeRosa had been heading for the side of the court, just before the whistle blew signaling halftime, when it seemed that he was being heckled from behind the scorers’ table by one of the spectators, who turned out to be Franz Hanning, the CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership.

The NBA did not say anything about the entire incident, but confirmed that they are looking into the matter. Franz Hanning, on the other hand, did seem rather embarrassed about the entire incident, conceding that he has found out, only too personally, that the officials of the NBA are quite efficient about their jobs. However, he insisted, as did his wife, that he harbors no ill feeling about the incident or toward Joe DeRosa. Although he refused to sit for any interview even over the phone, he did issue a statement via e-mail.