Chris Paul criticizes NBA ref Lauren Holtkamp: 'This might not be for her'

Chris Paul questioned the ability of rookie NBA ref Lauren Holtkamp to call NBA games after she called a technical foul on him.

Chris Paul was called for a technical foul in the third quarter of Cavs-Clippers after an interaction with referee Lauren Holtkamp, and was critical of her moxie after the game:

Chris Paul critical of ref Lauren Holtkamp's "terrible" tech on him (and Jordan). Said if she calls that way, "this might not be for her."

— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) February 6, 2015

Chris Paul critical of referee Lauren Holtkamp, who called technical on him. "This might not be for her." #Clippers

— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) February 6, 2015

You can watch the video of the call here. It's not clear what Paul said to Holtkamp to draw the technical -- he said he didn't curse -- but her reaction to penalize Paul was quick and decisive.

It's possible that Paul would've said this about any rookie NBA official, but of course, Holtkamp isn't any rookie NBA official: She's only the third full-time female referee in major American sports. And the gist of Paul's statement is that she isn't mentally strong or tough enough to call NBA games. Would Paul, a player who doesn't have a history of criticizing officials to the press, say that about a male ref in a historically entirely male field?

It's likely that Paul will be fined regardless of whether his intent is read to be sexist -- you can't make statements like this about NBA officials to the media regardless of their gender.

In the NBA's eyes, Holtkamp is no more or less ready to ref NBA games than her male counterparts. The former Division II player worked her way to the NBA through the league's referee developmental program, calling D-League games for six years. She called six NBA games last year as a non-staff ref before being called up to the league's full-time crew this year. Holtkamp was the topic of a documentary, "Summer Dreams," following her as well as players and coaches hoping to get noticed at NBA Summer League.

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