National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran referee, Bill Spooner has cried foul on the remarks about him tweeted by Associated Press writer, John Krawcynski in January and has taken to the court to clear his name.

Claiming that the remarks made by Krawcynski were what the Daily News referred to as ‘intentional foul’ to his reputation, the NBA referee has filed defamatory charges against the AP writer.

Spooner is complaining about Krawcynski’s Twitter message on January 24 saying the NBA referee had promised to give Minnesota Timberwolves coach, Kurt Rambis a ‘make-up call’ when the latter protested in one of the 22-year court veteran foul calls.

Following the game, Krawcynski reportedly wrote on his Twitter account: "Ref Bill Spooner told Rambis he'd 'get it back' after a bad call," the sports reporter wrote. "Then he made an even worse call on the Rockets. That's NBA officiating, folks."

According to the Daily News, Spooner has strongly denied Krawcynski’s January – tweet, adding that it has damaged his reputation .

"Crucial to Plaintiff Spooner's continued employment ... is the preservation of his reputation for honesty and integrity in the discharge of his officiating duties," the legal documents was quoted by the Daily News.

On top of the threat of punitive damages, the NBA court veteran is seeking $75,000 for ‘defamation to his professional and business reputation’.

AP legal team has maintained in a statement that the report made by the wire service writer was accurate.

"We believe all of the facts we reported from the game in question were accurate," AP counsel Dave Tomlin said.

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