Trouble Bruin in the Pac-12 - & it Ain't UCLA!

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by VaTerp

There's a big distinction between instructing your staff to take certain actions and what Rush said, joking or not. It was over the top.

Again, I personally don't have a problem with what Rush said but once it became public, he had to go.

I'm going to assume that most other supervisors are not going to put themselves in the same position. Rush could have gotten his point across in a much better way. Sucks that there was a rat in the room but that's life.

And I don't think the public is really overreacting here. Sometimes perception is reality and it's a bitch.

If he wanted to resign then I am OK with that. It is not like he had been there long to warrant him staying. I am just saying that right or wrong supervisors make points and often make points in different ways. Some use humor. Some are vague and some are very specific. I have been to many camps where supervisors and clinicians are very direct and use language the public would be "outraged" by if they heard in or out of a college conference. And I think what tells it all is that someone went to the media which appears because he was upset of his standing. A loyal person would not have done that or would have kept his issues in-house. Because if the Pac-12 was about transparency, they would give the public the reports on why Miller was T'd and the correspondence as well. But they are not going to do that anytime soon, because it is easy to scapegoat the officials and not the coach that may have acted inappropriately.

Peace

[VaTerp]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

If he wanted to resign then I am OK with that. It is not like he had been there long to warrant him staying. I am just saying that right or wrong supervisors make points and often make points in different ways. Some use humor. Some are vague and some are very specific. I have been to many camps where supervisors and clinicians are very direct and use language the public would be "outraged" by if they heard in or out of a college conference. And I think what tells it all is that someone went to the media which appears because he was upset of his standing. A loyal person would not have done that or would have kept his issues in-house. Because if the Pac-12 was about transparency, they would give the public the reports on why Miller was T'd and the correspondence as well. But they are not going to do that anytime soon, because it is easy to scapegoat the officials and not the coach that may have acted inappropriately.

Peace

I don't disagree with any of that.

I've heard all kinds of colorful comments behind closed doors as well. And I'm the type of person who enjoys them.

But sometimes colorful comments can go wrong when they fall on the wrong ears. Unfortunately for Rush, he had a rat in the room.

The bottom line is that Rush repeatedly targeted a coach in his comments repeatedly and then that coach gets his first T of the year and only the 2nd T for any coach in the BCS conference tournys and rightly or wrongly, that T is going to be scrutinized.

And when that scrutiny publicly leads to calling into question the integrity and impartiality of the officials then I think there was no other result but for Rush to go.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by VaTerp

I don't disagree with any of that.

I've heard all kinds of colorful comments behind closed doors as well. And I'm the type of person who enjoys them.

But sometimes colorful comments can go wrong when they fall on the wrong ears. Unfortunately for Rush, he had a rat in the room.

The bottom line is that Rush repeatedly targeted a coach in his comments repeatedly and then that coach gets his first T of the year and only the 2nd T for any coach in the BCS conference tournys and rightly or wrongly, that T is going to be scrutinized.

And when that scrutiny publicly leads to calling into question the integrity and impartiality of the officials then I think there was no other result but for Rush to go.

All true and someone will find out who that "rat" is and people will not trust that person either. Even doing what you feel is right can have consequence. It would be one thing is the comment was taken seriously and the T was totally unwarranted, but there is a way to prove that and the Pac-12 did not see much to the claim as I am sure Miller was told why he got the T. You notice he is not talking about that much? Maybe he is not talking because he would be exposed for what he really did and said and the other events in the game.

Also keep in mind that it is very possible that other coaches and programs complained about the treatment of other coaches. Arizona most of the year was highly ranked and I would not be surprised that other coaches that did get Ts or were reprimanded might have pointed to the top program's leader as an example. I would not be surprised if Rush's comments about Miller were a culmination of other correspondence to Rush and he tried to get a point across in another way. I guess I am a realist, I just never think a supervisor makes these comments without some provocation in their role. Rush had a boss to listen to as well.

Peace

[dahoopref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

You notice he is not talking about that much? Maybe he is not talking because he would be exposed for what he really did and said and the other events in the game.

Peace

I know for a fact that Miller was fined for what he did & said to someone as he stepped off the podium after the press conference.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by dahoopref

I know for a fact that Miller was fined for what he did & said to someone as he stepped off the podium after the press conference.

Are you saying he was not fined (only) for his comments about the T in the press conference?

Peace

[dahoopref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Are you saying he was not fined (only) for his comments about the T in the press conference?

Peace

From what I was told, he was fined not for his comments but what he did & said to a person after the press conference in front of some higher-ups from the conference office. It might be the reason why Miller hasn't said much about being fined.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by dahoopref

From what I was told, he was fined not for his comments but what he did & said to a person after the press conference in front of some higher-ups from the conference office. It might be the reason why Miller hasn't said much about being fined.

Gotcha.

Peace

[TheOracle]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

All true and someone will find out who that "rat" is and people will not trust that person either. Even doing what you feel is right can have consequence. It would be one thing is the comment was taken seriously and the T was totally unwarranted, but there is a way to prove that and the Pac-12 did not see much to the claim as I am sure Miller was told why he got the T. You notice he is not talking about that much? Maybe he is not talking because he would be exposed for what he really did and said and the other events in the game.

Also keep in mind that it is very possible that other coaches and programs complained about the treatment of other coaches. Arizona most of the year was highly ranked and I would not be surprised that other coaches that did get Ts or were reprimanded might have pointed to the top program's leader as an example. I would not be surprised if Rush's comments about Miller were a culmination of other correspondence to Rush and he tried to get a point across in another way. I guess I am a realist, I just never think a supervisor makes these comments without some provocation in their role. Rush had a boss to listen to as well.

Peace

Jeff, you are the smartest and most articulate guy in here, but you are way to narrow on this. In this instance, it's hard to defend the official or Rush. Miller does not have a reputation for being difficult to deal with, or profane on he bench. From what I have been told by folks who worked his games at Xavier, he is high-energy who asks questions--exactly what officials should want. You have to take him at his word when he feels he got screwed getting T'd for trying to get Irving to ask a partner if the ball was touched or not. Second, Rush got upset with Miller earlier this year, because when a crew of Rush's favorites made a mess of the ASU-UA game this year, Miller was cryptically critical of the officials, to where mockery was evident. His ego is too big,always has been, and he got pinched.

There were 13 (10 edit) guys in the room. Several of the conferences' top officials were not working the tournament--some by their own decision. It is probably known who went to the media, and I'd bet several of the 13 (10) are just fine with it. Many of them are now commenting and mentioning "mutiny" if Rush stayed. Life goes on.

The higher you go, the quicker the fall is if you are unprofessional towards coaches or ADs and you get pinched for it. No Pac-12 guys working this weekend. They'll be better for Rush resigning.

[JRutledge]

I have no idea what Miller's background is or actual reputation in the officiating community. So I would not take his word for anything without knowing him in detail. I just know coaches say things that are not true. On the baseball board there was a situation where a coach apparently misrepresented a conversation with an umpire to the media. So forgive me if I am a little skeptical of a coach telling the entire truth in a press conference. And I really am skeptical when the person says, "All I did was say...he hit the ball....he hit the ball....he hit the ball..." I am sure more went on in that conversation. And we also know coaches that ask questions that are unreasonable or silly. Now maybe he is a great guy, but that also does not mean that someone was not happy with his behavior. Again jealousy is just as much of a problem in the coaching ranks as it is with fellow officials. I just think there is a lot to this and Rush was made to be the fall guy for what might have been going on with many other levels.

Peace

[Raymond]

The person who got me into officiating told me Wednesday that an extremely high profile official said this story will get worse. Now I just heard on late night radio that more officials are coming out against Rush and that he was not joking.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

The person who got me into officiating told me Wednesday that an extremely high profile official said this story will get worse.

Yeah, well, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night, soooo....

[JetMetFan]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Former Pac-12 Conference coordinator of officials Ed Rush says he was just trying to "lighten the mood" in a tense locker room when he "jokingly" made offers of $5,000 or a trip to Mexico for any referee who called a technical foul on Arizona coach Sean Miller during the league tournament.

In his first interview since reports surfaced of the incident that forced his resignation, Rush told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the comments were "absolutely, 100 percent said in jest." He believes the remarks were leaked out by officials who were unhappy with his overall handling of the Pac-12 program and wanted to tarnish his reputation.

Rush said his remarks were part of an overall "point of emphasis" to crack down on coach misconduct on the sideline after Arizona's win over Colorado in the Pac-12 quarterfinal. In the course of that presentation, Rush said he cracked down on the officials who worked the game - Verne Harris, Michael Reed and Rodrick Dixon - for not disciplining either Miller or Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle for their behavior.

"I said, 'The game cried out for a bench warning. It would have been very simple to take care of that. It cried out for bench warnings,'" Rush said in a phone interview with the AP. "Another crew was waiting in there, getting ready for the next game. I would say there was a level of tension in the locker room, just because the disappointment that they worked this game but they didn't take care of something that was a point of emphasis.

"So in an effort just to lighten the mood, I said to them, 'Hey, guys. What's it going to take? Do you think we could give you a trip to Cancun or maybe $5,000? Or who wants what? And now they're all laughing, which is basically what I wanted to do. So I said, 'I know you guys, you probably want $5,000, you want the money, you won't take the trip to Cancun. So I'm going around, 'What would you take?' At that point, I said, 'By the way, you know my wife's not going to go for this. I'm going to have to pull this off the table.' They all laughed, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, bud.' That was it, and I walked out."

An investigation done by the Pac-12's head of enforcement, Ron Barker, found that every official interviewed confirmed "nobody thought they were getting a reward," Scott said. But Rush couldn't survive the constant swarm of criticism from fans and media this week once the comments became public in a CBSSports.com report.

The 70-year-old Rush, a longtime NBA referee and the league's former director of officiating, had been a consultant to the Pac-12 since 2007 before becoming conference coordinator of officials last May. He said he offered his resignation to Scott by phone Thursday afternoon once it became clear it was going to be "difficult to rebuild trust" of coaches, players and the public.

ESPN.com, citing anonymous sources, also reported officials did not believe Rush was joking. In response, Rush told the AP some officials were unhappy with his overhaul of the official program, especially when he told veterans that assignments in the league tournament would be based on merit instead of seniority.

"That was wrong place, wrong time, wrong audience," Rush said. "See, where I come from, in the NBA, there's a code that you definitely follow. You never, ever take the conversations in that locker room outside. I learned that code in 1966. Mendy Rudolph taught me that. You talk to the NBA officials, they all follow the code.

"There's a few guys (in the Pac-12) who didn't follow that code. They missed that part, and that's a shame. That's a very important part of the bond and the profession. Shame on me for not knowing that, but I used poor judgment. So that's my regret. Other than that, we got after it. We spent a lot of time. We definitely made some inroads in the right direction."

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Adam

His resignation is probably of the "I don't need this garbage" variety. Happy retirement, Ed.

Perhaps or perhaps there is more substance and truth to the accusations than several here wish to admit.

Originally Posted by Brad

This is so true.

Fans are outraged at the implied conflict of interest of being rewarded for giving a technical foul to a coach — what about the flipside?

Do you think that officials never consider the consequences of a technical foul? That they have the same team coming up in a few weeks ... and who knows how many times for the rest of the season? That they don't want to be taken off of those games? Giving a technical foul might cost you thousands of dollars.

I was personally taken off of a game because I whacked a coach. He clearly deserved it — was on the floor, yelling at my partner across the floor about a call. It was not even close. My partner was gutless and did nothing. But it was a clear tech — so clear that I was calling it without even thinking — just automatic.

Never gave it another thought until I was called a few days later and taken off a future game for that team. So sorry, but we don't have a replacement game for you—too bad you already booked your flight. You can lose that money in addition to the game fee that you won't be getting.

That is complete and utter bullshit. And that happened at the small D1 conference level — you think it doesn't happen in the big leagues??? Don't kid yourself.

I agree with your point of view on situations such as that and am sorry to hear that you had a spineless conference supervisor who wouldn't back you for taking care of business. Hopefully, that person is no longer in that position.

Originally Posted by Brad

Yeah, well, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night, soooo....

Funny response, but let's see if the info posted by Badnews turns out to be accurate, and if so, you will be the one looking for BBQ sauce that goes well with shoe leather.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by TheOracle

In this instance, it's hard to defend the official or Rush.

Maybe based on what has been written by the sports media. What you are not considering is how badly that story has been spun for their own purposes —*it does not represent the truth. There is no video, no recording, no corroborating witnesses.

They quote a single anonymous official who they say was in the room, but who knows for sure, plus Tim Donaghy. Not exactly solid proof.

Originally Posted by TheOracle

You have to take him at his word when he feels he got screwed getting T'd for trying to get Irving to ask a partner if the ball was touched or not.

Why do I have to take him at his word? Are you kidding me???

Coaches LIE. All the time. To serve their own purposes. Not all coaches, but plenty of them —*especially when it comes to interaction with officials.

[TheOracle]

Originally Posted by Brad

Maybe based on what has been written by the sports media. What you are not considering is how badly that story has been spun for their own purposes —*it does not represent the truth. There is no video, no recording, no corroborating witnesses.

They quote a single anonymous official who they say was in the room, but who knows for sure, plus Tim Donaghy. Not exactly solid proof.



Why do I have to take him at his word? Are you kidding me???

Coaches LIE. All the time. To serve their own purposes. Not all coaches, but plenty of them —*especially when it comes to interaction with officials.

Coaches lie, players lie, and officials lie. It happens. We can disagree. I will believe Sean Miller over Ed Rush. You kick a call, you have to give the coach a little leeway. Not middle of court F-bomb leeway, but Miller was not completely out of line. An evaluator is giving Irving a double minus on that T, and dinging the crew for missing that call.

You sound bitter about your T deal. It happens. Keep doing what you do, and if it is meant to be, you'll ascend and prove the coach wrong.