Indianapolis, IN (OnFocus) – As originally reported by Pat Forde of si.com, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is facing scrutiny due to some poor decision making by NCAA leadership and the decisions of six officials.
The NCAA had 68 officials in Indianapolis for the NCAA Men’s Tourney, but six were lost before the tournament even began.
Six officials arrived in Indianapolis only to find their hotel rooms and mealswere not ready. The group then decided to leave the hotel and eat, which was a violation of the NCAA’s protocols. One of the officials was then diagnosed with COVID-19, and the other five were also disqualified from officiating due to contact tracing.
rted yet, and it’s already lost 10% of the officials it selected to work the 68-team fandango. This is a very bad development for a sport that’s been dealing with an officiating crisis of confidence.
Forde reports the six officials were names well known in collegiate officiating: Ted Valentine, John Higgins, Roger Ayers, John Gaffney, Kipp Kissinger and Ray Natili.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
