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Karl-Anthony Towns: I'm Not Here to Give a 'Dak Prescott Kind of Comment' About Refs
January 20, 2022
Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns wasn't about to be condemned by the National Basketball Referees Association even if he didn't agree with the officiating during Wednesday's 134-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
"I'm not up here to give you a Dak Prescott kind of comment, so no comment," he told reporters when discussing the officials.
However, he also addressed a play at the end of the third quarter when his fadeaway jump shot was taken off the board. What's more, he was issued a flagrant foul for kicking up and making contact with the defender as he unleashed the shot.
"I've never seen it in basketball before." he said. "I've never seen it in the NBA. ... All I'll say is Dirk Nowitzki got put on the floor for the same shot," he added with a nod to the Dallas Mavericks placing a decal of the all-time great's patented fadeaway jumper on their court.
Referee Bill Kennedy addressed the call after the game:
Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynskiOn KAT: <br>"At the end of the period replay review is triggered with a made basket. It was observed during the review that a flagrant foul was committed by Towns for kicking the defender, therefore nullifying the basket. The technical foul was given to Towns for taunting."
The Prescott reference was notable since the Dallas Cowboys quarterback found himself in some hot water for his words following Sunday's playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. After he found out some Cowboys fans were throwing things at the referees as they left the field, he said, "credit to them, then."
Prescott then apologized for his words, saying they were "uncalled for and unfair":
The Cowboys fans were so upset because of the way the game ended. Dallas had the ball with no timeouts remaining and 14 seconds left while trailing by six and called a quarterback draw with Prescott. While he picked up plenty of yardage, he was tackled in bounds to create a frantic situation with the clock running.
The official was far behind the play and sprinted in an effort to spot the ball so Dallas could spike it. He ran over Prescott in the process, and the clock expired before the Cowboys could run one final play.
It was a questionable play call at best, but it was still one of the more bizarre endings in recent NFL history.
Yet Prescott's comments drew the ire of the NBRA, which tweeted: "The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials. As an NFL leader, he should know better. We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future."
As for Wednesday's game, the Timberwolves lost by double digits and shot just four fewer free throws than Atlanta (33-29).
Towns was upset with the one play at the end of the third quarter, but it ultimately didn't make much difference in the final outcome.