Commissioner Mike Slive and the Southeastern Conference have a problem, and their reponse seems to be to pretend that it isn't there.
SEC football officials are taking a beating, often with good reason. Slive suspended one crew when they messed up so much he was left with little choice. Otherwise, he defends the indefensible and takes action against the victims of officiating mistakes.
Last week, Slive fined Florida coach Urban Meyer
$30,000 for a pretty tame comment that he thought a penalty should have been called for a late hit on Tim Tebow. If you watch the tape, he clearly was right.
Slive got upset about public complaints by other coaches, and Meyer paid the price. Of course, he won't miss $30,000.
Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson wondered the other day why SEC coaches can't say they disagree with a call, as long as they don't question the integrity of the official making it. Good question, one I've been asking for a long time.
If Chris Todd plays badly against Georgia on Saturday, he'll be grilled by reporters after the game. If Auburn loses, Gene Chizik and all his players and assistants will face the music.
If the officials mess up, they'll run and hide behind the SEC's "ethical" standards.
Why can't officials be held accountable to the public? Don't tell us what a great job they do. Show us. Tell us what plays have been questioned by coaches each week and how many were called properly and how many were not.
If the officials' performances can't stand the light of day, then it's clear something needs to be done.
As it stands now, the competence and even the integrity of SEC officials are being questioned. And neither Slive nor anyone else in the SEC office is doing anything to answer those questions in any satisfactory way.
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