One of the great lines in NBA history is Rasheed Wallace’s “Ball Don’t Lie.” It has become the favorite response of players to a missed free throw after a call they think the referees got wrong — Sheed used to yell it so loudly he would occasionally get a T tacked on by the refs.
While it’s become a beloved refrain from players, the truth is the ball lies a fair amount — both in made free throws after bad calls and in missed free throws after good ones. For one NBA referee, James Williams aka Gucci Ref, he’s decided to make a stand for referees by creating t-shirts that say “Ball Does Lie,” explaining in a video “that ball lie every day.”
We don’t often see referees taking a stand like this, but as Williams notes, he wanted to make something for all the refs out there who want to talk a little smack on the floor. Refs hear it from players all the time (sometimes deserved, sometimes not), and the man players simply call “Gucci” for his resemblance to the Atlanta rapper wants to fight back a little bit and have some fun. I doubt this will catch on too much with fans, but I have no doubt this will be a hit with fellow refs.