EXTRA POINT: Mum is not the way to go Big Sky
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Wednesday, July 18, 2007
By Randy Hollis
Standard-Examiner staff
If a football official makes a blatant mistake in a college game, but the coach who was victimized by the blown call can't comment on it for fear of retribution from the conference, should media members simply ignore it, as if it never happened?
Well, if Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton had his way, the answer to that question would be "Yes."
Sorry, Mr. Commish, but my answer to that question is not "No," but "Hell no."
This week, Fullerton issued his seemingly annual plea to media members who cover the Big Sky, asking them to refrain from asking coaches about officiating issues in their postgame interviews.
And if an irate coach does happen to take a verbal shot at an officiating crew's calls, Fullerton urged the media to simply leave those comments out of our stories.
"A coach that simply says, 'I think that official missed that call' (which Weber State coach Ron McBride did last year, earning him a one-game suspension following the Wildcats' loss to Montana State), that's being critical of the officials, and he will be suspended," Fullerton said.
"Most of the time that happens when they're answering a question from the media, and I ask the media please don't put the coaches in that situation.
"I'll say this, if for some reason you see a coach get caught in that situation and say something, you know if you don't print it, I won't read it," Fullerton said. "If you print it, it ends up in my e-mail. ... I know some editorials have been written about how anal the commissioner is.
"If we allow people to talk about the negatives, then we can ruin (the officials') credibility before they even walk on the field, and we just aren't going to allow it."
But wait just a minute here. Virtually everyone involved in sports is subject to criticism, including coaches, managers, players, team owners, athletic directors, team trainers, scorekeepers and groundskeepers.
Heck, even the guy who takes tickets, runs the clock or sweeps the floor comes under fire once in awhile.
And if he or she screws up, they should be held accountable. After all, nobody's worrying much about their credibility.
And when I write a column that somebody disagrees with -- yes, believe it or not, it's happened -- then I'm subject to letters to the editor, not to mention caustic e-mails and voice mails which can be downright vicious.
So tell me why in the world should football officials be exempt from criticism, especially when it is warranted?
They shouldn't.
Fullerton defended his officials, saying that when they threw the flag, they were right 95 percent of the time.
"Our football officiating is as good at this level as there is," he insisted. "Now, do we miss some things? Absolutely."
He also wondered whether most fans can actually see the field well enough or really know the rules well enough to second-guess the officials who are making those calls.
"Fans see what they want to see," he said. "... Coaches often don't know what happened, either. They've usually got a worse view of the play than the media does. You can't see a thing down there on the sideline, you really can't. They need to take a look at the video tape first."
Of course, the human element always comes into play, and since officials are only human, they're going to make an occasional mistake. Fullerton recommended that every controversial call needs to be reviewed on the game film before it should be publicly scrutinized and criticized.
He also admitted that, each year, a couple of officials are told their services are no longer wanted due to their poor performance.
But it sure seems like someone has to serve as the watchdog and let officials know on those "rare" occasions when they screw up.
And if the coaches can't do it, well, then, that watchdog must be us.
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