SEC FOOTBALL OFFICIATING CREW SUSPENDEDObviously it doesn't matter a hill of beans if you're a Georgia or an Arkansas fan, but at least the public pressure on Slive forced him to reconsider his position on "public hangings." I respectfully submit that public humiliation, when warranted, is an effective motivator for the rest of your work force.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 21, 2009) -- The officiating crew from Saturday’s Arkansas at Florida football game will be removed from its next scheduled assignment on Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive announced Wednesday.
"A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews," said Slive. "I believe our officiating program is the best in the country, however, there are times when these actions must be taken."
Following each weekend, the conference office reviews games from the previous week, using video replays as well as interviews with officials, coaches and administrators.
"While only a few calls have been identified, the entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play. I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program," added Slive. "Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation."
In addition, there will be an impact on eligibility for post-season bowl assignments for the crew.
In reality, the suspended crew is not much worse than any of the SEC's other crews. The suspended crew had the bad judgment to screw up royally in two high profile games, but plenty of non-outcome determinative but equally poor calls occur in any given game officiated by SEC refs. I submit Penn Wagers and his band of merry men are equally capable of such underachievement.
I get that it's a tough job and every call is objected to by one team or the other. But the ticky-tacky subjective stuff riles me like an off-ball foul in the final two minutes of basketball game riled Jim Harrick. When the Vanderbilt player tossed Joe Cox's hand towel in the air after sacking him, it seemed like an appropriate place to throw a celebration flag. I mean, some official had to be watching, or they wouldn't know the play was dead. The lack of uniformity and the lack of objective criteria for certain calls are something Slive and Rogers Redding should be tackling.
Tony Barnhart probably hit closest to the mark when he criticized the overall mindset of the league's officials. Credit Mike Slive for realizing the SEC's credibility was taking a pounding and doing something about it.
Hopefully this is the first of several steps the SEC will take to address the horrific quality of conference officiating.
23 comments:
This does not make me feel better, but at least the league recognizes that the national perception of SEC officiating is that it is inexplicably horrendous. The only reason Slive publicly announced this is from national media pressure. I am sure they have suspended crews in the past and did not release a public announcement. This is not going to affect the mindset and attitude that is pervasive throughout the SEC officials that I must make every personal foul call even if I am unsure. However next year I would like to see at least some physical fitness criteria for the officials. I mean one of those guys is a cheeseburger away from a coronary, hard to believe he can be in position to make calls with all the speed on the field.
Damage done.
Maybe to late. Most of the avg. fans that I talk, and listen to think the fix is in. Most seem to think the ref's are betting on the games, or the sec office is pulling the strings. Sad really.
It's time to move the excessive celebration penalty to the booth, and only the official in the both can call it. Only the official in the booth has a view of everything going on in the end zone. This season has proven that the guys on the field aren't capable of properly assessing when the penalty applies.
The real litmus test for Curles crew will be how they call games next year. They'll mind their p's and q's come November 14. If they can't call a game with uniformity, they need to find a new hobby.
I also agree with Blutarsky. Ole Rogers is pretty quiet about this. This is a top down problem for the officials and Rogers is at the top.
Here's Curles' take on what he thinks he saw on the UA personal foul:
"I saw out of the corner of my eye -- the play went over near the sideline," Curles recalls. "I'm trailing the play, moving in that direction. And out of the corner of my eye, I see a vicious blow, and I see the Florida player go flying down 20 yards behind the play. And in my mind, the Arkansas guy had blindsided him and knocked the player that was completely out of the play, which would have been a personal foul. Obviously, that isn't what happened. Where I made the mistake is I didn't see the whole thing. I didn't see how it developed. I saw out of the corner of my eye what I thought was a foul. I can't think something is a foul. I got to know it is. And that was my mistake...."
This guy doesn't have a clue on how to officiate NCAA football. But, I bet he's seen a UFO.
If that is not the dumbest thing for an official to admit to. Freaking ridiculous. He might as well said, Well I looked up out of the corner of my eye and the TE had the ball in his hands and both feet in the end zone. I didn't realize that he had come back in from out of bounds to catch it.
My bad....
The "celebration rule" sucks.
Enforce taunting, which is easy to identify.
Don't punish these kids/teams' exuberance subjectively when they accomplish goals they've been striving for 24/7 for years.
SEC = WWE
These officials are smart - it's not that they are calling a penalty, it is WHEN they are calling a penalty. They have called these bogus penalties at just the right time to change or influence the outcome of the game.
The public announcement about suspension is good. However, I was thinking more along the lines of public flogging.
The fact that Slive said "I believe our officiating program is the best in the country . . ." shows he hasn't been paying attention for many years now.
At least they won't be calling the Georgia/Florida game. Although this obviously clears the way for Penn Wagers.
Also, you'll notice it was Slive that pulled the plug and not the Georgia Tech alum they have running SEC officiating.
Wanna wager a guess on what that "Oct. 31 assignment" was? Hope we don't get Penn instead.
this web site advertises tickets for the Nov. 14 game against Aubburn and Kentucks. UGA is playing a doubleheader that day?
I just noticed ESPN says the head of this officiating crew (Marc Curles) is a Georgia Tech grad. Why are there so many Tech alums in the SEC officiating program?
Typo fixed.
Nothing is going to change.
SEC officiating is the worst in NCAA football. It does not matter who your team is. Tune in to any SEC matchup and before the game is over you will see some of the most inexplicable things done by the officiating crew that you have ever seen before.
When a guy admits that he threw a flag because of something he didn't even see but just assumed you know there is a huge, huge problem with the officiating.
The majority of these guys are not prepared for the work they are being asked to do. They are ruining the game. It needs to be stopped but I have no idea how to stop it.
I thought I saw Georgia beat LSU, out of the corner of my eye of course... Sadly that didnt matter and now were sitting at 4-3 with this suspension doing nothing for us.
Damage Done.
Chris, I've been thinking about that aspect, and it is mighty odd. How many Tech grads have been involved with SEC officiating? Would Florida object if an FSU man got the job? We know South Carolina would raise hell if a Clemson man were in the spot. Imagine a Louisville grad running SEC basketball refs. That relationship between GT and SEC officiating is beyond strange.
Well, FSU....and Miami....have to put up with having a UF grad (Doug Rhodes) heading up ACC officiating.
Redding graduated from Tech in the 60's but had been a prof (North Texas, Northern Kentucky, USAFA, Colorado) for much of his officiating career (HS in TX for many years, then SWC '88-'93, then SEC '94-'03) He did several bowls, the '99 SECC game and three NC games. He's also the rules editor for the NCAA. His undegard alma mater notwithstanding, his credentials re:officiating are solid.
His credentials might be solid, but do you know any Tech grads who don't suffer from derangement syndrome when it comes to UGA? They hate UGA so much it's like a sickness. And our general indifference and disdain for them just makes their mouths foam harder. I'm not sure any Tech grad can be objective when it comes to officiating UGA games.
SUSPENDED????? WHY THE HELL WEREN'T THEY FIRED?!?!?!
I will tell you why they weren't fired.
http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=blutarsky.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.al.com%2Fsolomon%2F2009%2F10%2Fcbs_rides_tide_gators_to_high.html
It is no secret the SEC wants the big paydays with both Florida and Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and in the BCS bowls. The networks who shelled out over $200 million to the SEC per year to air the games expect to see a return on this investment. The SEC has an opportunity to significantly increase their $200 million payday with one undefeated team in the BCS Champinship game and another team in a BCS bowl.
One of the SEC’s junior officiating crews protects the largest ratings draw (Florida) twice by taking Georgia down and keeping Florida undefeated. They do it through non-reviewable penalty calls late in games where the outcome is going the wrong way for the SEC.
Slive protects his ruse by giving this crew a couple of weeks off and offering a weak apology to the offended schools. The heat gets hotter, so Slive publicly throws this crew under the bus.
However, when the heat dies down, you will see Slive bring this crew back just like Kramer did with Al Ford’s crew.
Also when Petrino got uppity, you saw Slive put him down in his place on the SEC plantation, next to the passive Richt and Evans.
Remember this the next time you see Florida or Alabama in a close game and the flags start flying late.
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