Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: NFL referee goes viral for pulling a Kawhi Leonard

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 1/2/22

One NFL referee was sounding a lot like a fun guy on Sunday.

Referee Shawn Smith, who was officiating the Week 17 contest between the Miami Dolphins and the Tennessee Titans, went viral for a hilarious reason. Before announcing a penalty in the second quarter, Smith got the crowd’s attention by saying, “Hey, hey hey.”

LMAO pic.twitter.com/I1kUCvMVqf

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 2, 2022

That led everyone on Twitter to make the same joke — that Smith sounded exactly like LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.

Ref decided to do his best Kawhi impression.

The stadium was loving it

pic.twitter.com/28R4Q3vKaW

— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 2, 2022

Kawhi Leonard sighting in Nashville https://t.co/lDrAkWVXX4

— Johnny Kinsley (@Brickwallblitz) January 2, 2022

Official in the Dolphins vs Titans game channeling his inner Kawhi Leonard pic.twitter.com/icmyrPblAQ

— Jake (@JakeAndHoops) January 2, 2022

Is Kawhi Leonard the ref in the Titans game today?
pic.twitter.com/oGrLlJsymD

— Justin Brown-Woods (@jbrownwoods) January 2, 2022

Leonard famously said, “Hey, hey, hey,” to welcome Clippers fans during his first game with the team in 2019, sparking a legendary meme.

Hey hey hey Kawhi Leonard/basketball player in blue Clippers jacket talking to the crowd with a microphone reaction video meme pic.twitter.com/YdHZc1ncFx

— all reaction videos (@allreactionvidz) October 25, 2019

The Titans would go on to win the game 34-3, but Smith was the real winner of the day. This might have even been a better viral moment than the one we saw from another referee earlier in the weekend.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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