Did anyone else see the Sarah Jessica John Parker Wilson touchdown in the Iron Bowl? What bullshit.
With the SEC office located in Birmingham. It is clear that officiating in games that there is a lack of independence, in appearance or fact, is a problem in the SEC, as well as other conferences.
I have suggested that the SEC league office publish 1) where each official is from and where they currently live, 2) what ties they have, directly or indirectly to each school. It is my understanding that the Big 10 has such a policy. For the record, similar issues about officials and independence from schools were raised by Coach Leach of Texas Tech. An official who made several questionable calls in the Texas Tech/Texas game lives in Austin, TX. Now, lets assume the official did not graduate from UT, still, the fact that the official lives in Austin would make it highly probable that a) he lives in a neighborhood with numerous UT alums, b)his family goes to Church, his kids go to school, with numerous folks associated with Texas in some fashion, c) he reads about Texas everyday in the offseason since he lives in Austin.
As a result, this individual should not be assigned to a Texas game by the Big 12 league office. IMO, the SEC officials in Birmingham need to address the issues of the SEC officiating because this is an issue that comes up every year and although I am not trying to pick a fight with the Bama fans, it seems that Alabama more often than not is at the center of the officiating controversies as opposed to the other SEC teams. In SEC games, first downs by penalties: Alabama 27 Opponents 2
In closing, clear disclosure policies by the SEC office of 1) who the officials, 2) where those officials live, 3) and thus, not assigning officials to games where there is any direct or indirect link to a school should be the policy for the SEC.
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