[VIDEO] Chris Paul Feeling Heat For Criticizing Female  Ref.. Fucko...

NEW YORK -- The head of the National Basketball Referees Association is defending official Lauren Holtkamp after "personal and unprofessional comments" by Los Angeles Clippers guardChris Paul.

Paul was critical of Holtkamp after the Clippers' 105-94 loss in Cleveland on Thursday. He received a technical foul from one of the league's two active female officials -- one of five called by Holtkamp's crew during the game -- for reasoning he later called "ridiculous."

“

The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don't care what nobody says, I don't care what she says; that's terrible. There's no way that can be a tech. ... That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her.

”- Chris Paul on referee Lauren Holtkamp

The technical came with 10:17 left in the third quarter when Paul tried to get the inbounds pass quickly, but instead was T'd up after questioning Holtkamp.

"I think we have to show better composure, but at the same time some of [the technical fouls] were ridiculous," said Paul, who is president of the NBA Players Association. "The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don't care what nobody says, I don't care what she says; that's terrible. There's no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court, and when we did that, she said, 'Uh-uh.' I said, 'Why, uh-uh?' And she gave me a tech.

"That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her."

The 34-year-old Holtkamp is in her first full season as an NBA referee.

The referees' union says it reviewed the calls made by Holtkamp and "deems them fully justified." General counsel Lee Seham says in a statement the union "deplores the personal and unprofessional comments made by Chris Paul. She belongs."

‎Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that Paul's comments are under league review, but one source stressed that the review was triggered per normal protocol, as the comments were critical of officiating.

Paul and several other Clippers players said after postgame interviews that their displeasure had nothing to do with Holtkamp's gender and everything to do with the calls she made on the court. The Clippers were unhappy with her calls in Thursday night's game and calls she made in a previous game against the Miami Heat.

Before working for the NBA, Holtkamp had six seasons of NBA D-League experience, including work in the 2013 and 2014 D-League Finals. She also has refereed in the WNBA, college and FIBA ranks.

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