Les Miles said yesterday that he has spoken with Mike Slive and SEC coordinator of officials Rogers Redding and that he accepts their explanation of why a play was ruled an incomplete pass, not an interception.
“I know these officials are trying. They are doing everything they can to get it right. The final score is the final score. The officials are working hard to get it right. If I felt differently, I would say so.”
But he’d be fined for it. So who knows what he might have said in the emotional moments right after the game?
“I know the officials could not see the play,” Miles continued. “They were in great position. One official could not see the play because he couldn’t see through the back of Patrick Peterson. The only other official who could see the play, was on the other boundary.
“He couldn’t see through one of our players. So, it goes to replay. If it’s not irrefutable, there’s no reversal. The replay man is given instruction to defend and defer to the call on the field.”
Wow. I’ve never been overly impressed with Miles as an in-game strategist, but he just won me over a little bit by acting like an adult. He could have easily said, “no comment,” let everyone know what he was thinking by doing so, and still avoided a fine.
But he didn’t. He explained the situation to his fanbase and defended the officials in the process. Kudos.
Nick Saban also spoke up for the SEC’s officials.
“If I was an official and I was making what I made officiating because I love the game and I love doing it, and I was getting criticized by the media — including our announcers on TV — like these guys are getting criticized, I’d step back and say, ‘I think I’ll go to the lake this weekend. You can have this.’ That’s what I’d do.”
That’s what I’d do, too.
I’ll have more on the LSU/Alabama brouhaha and the latest stir about SEC officials a little later today.
Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts
