Joe DeRosa is a referee

Official (basketball)

In basketball, an official is a person who has the responsibility to enforce the rules and maintain the order of the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the game...

 for the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. He is in his 21st season as a referee and has officiated over 1,000 regular season games, 75 play-off games and 5 NBA Finals

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....

 games. DeRosa, a native of North Canton, Ohio

North Canton, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,369 people, 7,114 households, and 4,382 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,697.1 people per square mile . There were 7,506 housing units at an average density of 1,236.8 per square mile...

 conducted officiating clinics in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and France.

During game two of 2010 Eastern Conference Finals DeRosa was involved in an altercation with an Orlando Magic fan. The fan, Wyndham Vacation Ownership CEO Franz Hanning, was heckling him when DeRosa threw the game ball across the scorers' table at Hanning. The fan then threw the ball back at DeRosa, who had NBA security eject the fan. The NBA suspend him 1 game for the situation.