NCAA explains curious circumstances behind pulling ref from women's tourney mid-game
The NCAA had an egg on its face after pulling a referee mid-game during the first round of the women's tournament due to a potential conflict of interest. However, the explanation only makes things look worse.
According to a statement, the NCAA replaced Tommi Paris due to a background dispute that, "if known," would have prevented her from being selected to officiate the game.
On the surface, it looks like an honest mistake. But, as Chantel Jennings of The Athletic pointed out, it was a massive oversight that a three-second Google search could've easily prevented.
"Paris' LinkedIn profile shows that she received a master's degree in public administration from the University of Tennessee at Chatanooga," Jennings wrote.
Adding more intrigue to the story, Jennings revealed that Paris had worked a previous Chattanooga matchup earlier this season against Mississippi State on Dec. 2. Meanwhile, a clarifying statement from the NCAA passed the buck to Paris, saying that she failed to "disclose" her school affiliation after being assigned Saturday's game.
The NCAA's finger-pointing at Paris aside, its failure to do due diligence as far back as December should be the main issue. Yes, it's an official's duty to divulge anything that might raise doubt about possible bias. However, after being allowed to work one of Chatagnooga's regular season contests, it's possible she felt everything was on the up and up.
Regardless of who's to blame, most of it should fall on the NCAA's shoulders for putting the onus on referees alone to report vital information.
More must-reads: