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

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

True. It just hit ESPN. It is fully appropriate that he not hold that position anymore after his unprofessional behavior.

Could not disagree more. The sports media has taken this story and made it into something it wasn't. It completely lacks any kind of context ... and the only sources the sports media has cited are an anonymous (most likely disgruntled) official and Tim Donaghy. It's shameful.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I am not sure I have ever heard why he got the T

The T was for being out on the floor*—*waving his arms around and yelling at the officials didn't help his cause either. You can see in the video that he is out about 3-4 feet on the floor ... then the video goes to replay ... then there is a whistle a few seconds later. So, not sure how far out on the court he got while protesting before getting whacked.

[whistlemania]

Originally Posted by TheOracle

Read what's out there tonight. Still feel this way?

I noticed you quoted earlier about we are defined on how we act when no one is watching. The Commissioner of the league has been on several national shows on air stating that Miller wasn't fined for his post game press conference rant, but instead for the profanity laced comments he made to a conference staff person as soon as he walked off from said press conference. I always thought our character was revealed on how we handled adversity and how we treat those that are perceived to be below us, i.e. a conference staffer. So in comparison, a misplaced joke up against taking out your frustration for an disputed unwarranted technical foul through verbal abuse. The former loses his job, the latter a fine. As an Oracle your reporting has holes in it. In one you claim through language an intimate knowledge of Rush's ego, maybe being from Valley Forge and Rush from Pennsylvania you've had dealings with him? But then on the backside you report from referee's you know, i.e. word of mouth, that Miller is a great guy, who just so happens to verbally abuse staffers when he himself has been dealt a mis-justice--arguably. Seems like solid ground to be comparing the character of both men on to me for sure.

yes I still feel the same way about how our two groups are treated and that coaches have unreasonable power over how officiating programs are implemented nation wide at a multitude of various levels.

[Brad]

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.

From Fischer: Separating facts from perception in the Ed Rush controversy - Pac-12 Post:

“He didn’t think the officials were doing the job of containing the coaches, that coach decorum was getting out of control – not solely focused on Coach Miller, but several coaches. As part of that banter this discussion was had about, ‘What do I have to do to get you guys to enforce the rules? To ‘T’ a coach up if he won’t listen to the warning? Do I got to give you a trip? Money?’

“Our investigator asked very, very pointed questions and it was clear that no one thought that there was a real bounty. Ed was trying to shock them into being more firm in order to make a point.”

This is exactly the context that this story has been lacking. Instead, sports writers have run with the "Targeting Arizona / Miller" idea ... and the "Bounties on Coaches" ... completely misrepresenting the comments and turning them into something they were not.

Originally Posted by VaTerp

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

It is a complete overreaction, but you are right that it is par for the course.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Berkut

I wasn't out of the box

Except he was.

Also, coaches always act like they have no idea what they did to receive a tech.

Originally Posted by Berkut

And he was right, btw - the UCLA player DID touch the ball.

Yes. He did. They kicked it big time. As a coach he should know that that play is not getting overturned —*it cannot be reviewed. Too bad, so sad. Yes, it sucks. There is nothing that can be done about it at that point ... so why keep yelling "HE TOUCHED THE BALL!!!"???

Maybe there should be a way to overturn that play ... I don't know. But until there is, there is no point in disputing it. That's on him.

Originally Posted by Berkut

Now, it turns out that it may be the case that Miller had heard about the comment made by Rush before the game, and hence before the press conference. Which would make it all a bit more interesting, and in which case I actually am pretty surprised Miller didn't flip out even more than he did in that press conference.

No way he knew. The Pac-12 tourney was in the middle of March —*this story just broke a few days ago.

I think refs talked to refs who talked to refs ... and someone talked to a buddy of his who is a sports writer and the article was written.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

You mean anonymous source that did not claim he was on the game, but knew the official that gave the T personally? Then go to the media and tell them what I think but had no first hand knowledge? I guess that makes it weak by default.

Don't forget Tim Donaghy... he probably thought the tech was weak too. Of course, hard to really tell with the small TVs they have in jail.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by VaTerp

The bottom line is that Rush repeatedly targeted a coach in his comments repeatedly

No. That is not the bottom line. That is what was reported in the sports media, with zero proof, through hearsay.

The Pac-12 made it clear that Rush did NOT target Miller in his comments.

Also, the notion reported in the media that his comment was repeated on two days is highly disputed.

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by Brad

It is a complete overreaction, but you are right that it is par for the course.

Of course there's going to be an overraction from the public (non-officials). Even without media coverage we're not the best-liked people on the planet. We shouldn't be surprised because anything we do that even hints of being unfair is considered a capital offense, especially by anyone in the sports media. All we can do is try to spread knowledge when we can. I know I try since I'm in the media but it's not easy.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Blindolbat

Seems like Rush is taking all the heat and in my opinion he deserves it. I wonder why the ref that called the T isn't receiving just as much. Is he? I mean essentially people are saying that he called a T to get $5k. Does he make it through this unscathed?

Because the T was warranted.

He never thought he was getting $5k. Nor did anyone else.

[Adam]

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

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Brad

Don't forget Tim Donaghy... he probably thought the tech was weak too. Of course, hard to really tell with the small TVs they have in jail.

I do not listen to that dirtbag so I have no idea what his take would be on this issue. But it is nice to know he had something to say.

Peace

[Brad]

Originally Posted by whistlemania

And if your conference integrity is based on a system such as one that Coaches have say in who works and who doesn't then you don't have integrity to begin with because by its very nature that compromises the officials ability to handle situations with disregard to punitive measures on the backside.

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.

[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.

[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."