NBA referee Ben Taylor David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

NBA official demoted weeks following Raptors' Fred VanVleet rant

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 3/22/23

In the wake of Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet's postgame tirade directed at NBA official Ben Taylor, the referee has reportedly been demoted in recent games he's worked.

As explained by Tom Haberstroh on Tuesday, in his last five contests, Taylor has only been the crew chief once and has been the "referee two" four times. Prior to VanVleet's rant, Taylor had been the crew chief in 41 of his previous 52 games this season and hadn't served as the "referee two" in back-to-back tilts all season.

"Since that Fred VanVleet rant... the NBA has actually demoted Ben Taylor in his assignments."@tomhaberstroh on how the #NBA has handled the Taylor/VanVleet situation with @JDBunkis.
— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) March 21, 2023

The 2022 All-Star blasted NBA officiating (singling out Taylor) following the Raptors loss to the Los Angeles Clippers two weeks ago. VanVleet was assessed four personal fouls in the game and told reporters after the defeat that he picked up a "bulls***" technical foul in the third quarter.

VanVleet led off his presser by saying "I don't mind, I'll take a fine, I don't really care" and among the gems from his soundbite were him calling Taylor "f***ing terrible tonight" and that some referees "just want to be d***s."

The Wichita St. product was fined $30,000 for his comments. Per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, three of VanVleet's eight technical fouls this season (as of March 8) have now come from Taylor.

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