Javie had an on-court incident during the 1990–91 NBA season in a game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Bullets. Bullets' forward Pervis Ellison threw the ball at referee Billy Spooner prompting Javie to run across the court to impose a technical foul on Ellison. In the sequence of events that followed, Javie ejected Ellison after protesting the call, the Bullets' head coach Wes Unseld for protesting the dismissal of Ellison, and the Bullets' mascot, "Hoops", for making gestures to incite the crowd. Rod Thorn, then the NBA's vice president for operations, ruled that Javie overreacted in ejecting Ellison and would be subject to discipline. The extent of the disciplinary action was not disclosed. Javie reflected on the experience saying, "My fatal mistake was getting involved with Billy and Pervis [Ellison in the first place. You have to be there for your partners, but most of the time you've got to let them call their game."