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

[BayStateRef]

Wow. So much to digest. And so much to discuss -- for a level (D-1) that few of us will see. And yet it touches us because we see ourselves in those officials, see our assignors in Ed Rush and see every coach we encounter in Arizona's Sean Miller.

So often on this forum, when anyone (fans, coach, media, other official) discusses in detail a call or non-call, many of us will say something like: "That is only one side. I'd like to hear that official's side."

Yet we rarely get to hear that side. The media doesn't hear it. The fans do not hear it. The coaches do not hear it. It might go into an internal report to a league, an assignor or a state office...but that's it. Most associations have a code or a rule that forbids officials from discussing their actions/calls/decisions in public. Only at the highest level (professional) do the leagues allow one person from the crew to speak about controversial calls. John Adams of the NCAA has gone on TV to explain calls/rulings (acting as sort of spokesman for the crew) in a few instances, but that is usually only at tournament time. We don't see or hear that viewpoint very often. At the NCAA level, we get videos that show crew errors -- not to point out flaws in the crew, but to re-enforce rules or points of emphasis for the rest of us -- an ongoing education process that is designed to make us better officials.

It is no accident that every network is trying to find another Mike Pereira, the Fox Sports analyst and ex-NFL official who is a huge hit as a commentator on rulings (made and missed.)

We hurt ourselves as officials with our code of silence. For those who keep referring to the original CBSSports report and its "anonymous source," I don't think you fully understand how the media works. This source is not anonymous to the reporter -- who has made a decision this person is to be trusted and "protected." If this source does not talk to the reporter, we do not know any of this.

I am not interested in the big picture politics behind the Big 12 and Ed Rush. But I do understand the many reasons this has taken hold. There are lessons for all of us in this.