It’s Not Easy Being a College Basketball Official These Days

PHOENIX, AZ – It’s not easy being a college basketball official these days, as NCAA tournament referee John Higgins found out the hard way this week.

Higgins worked Sunday’s Elite Eight game between Kentucky and North Carolina in Memphis that the Tar Heels won, 75-73, on a Luke Maye jump shot at the buzzer. The Wildcats were hit with 19 personals fouls, including two each on freshman stars Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo in the first half, a fact a frustrated Wildcats’ coach John Calipari made sure to point out in the post game.

“You know it’s amazing that we were in that game where they practically fouled out our entire team,” Calipari said. “Amazing that we had a chance.”

It was like lighting a stick of dynamite. Incensed Kentucky fans blamed Higgins for what they felt were questionable calls and reacted by issuing death threats, calling his company’s office and home, that had been an unlisted number, in addition to questioning his character and integrity on twitter and threatening his livelihood by posting negative and false one star reviews about his Omaha-based Weather guard business, “Rooferees”, on the company’s Facebook page. He eventually deleted the entire page.

Higgins, who has worked the Big 12, Big Ten and Big East, is one of the highest profile referees in the sport and was once described as one of the most “loathed” officials by Sports Illustrated. Higgins said in that SI story he doesn’t pay attention to the things said about him online because as it would be impossible for him to maintain his sanity. But this fan outrage crossed the line. According to a story first reported by Dana O’Neal and Jeff Goodman of ESPN, Higgins was disturbed enough to meet with law enforcement officials for two hours Tuesday.

“We appreciate the passion that fans bring to college basketball,” NCAA vice president in charge of basketball Danny Gavitt said in a statement Wednesday. “But the behavior of some fans toward John Higgins that has been reportedly publicly after last weekend’s regional final is not appropriate.

“John is one of the most experienced and qualified college referees in the country, evidenced by his many years of officiating during March Madness, and for some fans to not only question his character but also criticize his private business is unfortunate. While we understand it’s nearly impossible to officiate a game without fans getting upset about a call, it’s also important that behavior during or after a game reflects the same standards of good sportsmanship that we encourage of our coaches and student-athletes.”

Kentucky has released a statement, promoting good sportsmanship by Wildcats fans. “While we were all disappointed to see a memorable season end on Sunday and we appreciate the support our fans showed our student-athletes all year, we encourage our fans to demonstrate good sportsmanship to everyone and discourage any other kind of behavior,” the statement said.

Calipari also commented on social media: “I’ve always said we have the classiest fans in college basketball,” he tweeted. “Let’s make sure we maintain that way, even after a tough loss.”

Despite the ongoing drama, Higgins is scheduled to work this weekend’s Final Four games.