Did UK Fans’ Backlash at Referee John Higgins “Work”? A Look Back

[TheDude73]

Did you know I read an article two weeks ago this year is the first year the Big 12 implemented a system to grade and evaluate referees? It took until 2023-2024 for that to be put in place? Anecdotally the Big 12 games I’ve watched this year Kansas isn’t getting their usual whistle in that league. I wonder why? Accountability and fair evaluation are a MUST in every profession.

Will never happen in the SEC because our conference leaders have been working HARD to make us the "most physical" league in the country. And to do this, refs have to allow extremely physical play. This is one reason SEC teams rarely go very far in the tournament - they get in there and try to play that hack 'em up style that got them there, only to get called for more than they bargained for.

 

[TheDude73]

Yeah if we could get Pat Adams, Shows, Lindsey, Anthony Jordan added to the list! Those 4 hate Cal, Cal has brought most of it on himself. Lindsey tried his best to get the Auburn game even in the second half!

That wasn't Lindsay that kept making those bad calls Saturday. It was that bald dude Vladimir or something. He had about 4-5 in a row that were totally BS, particularly the one after the crowd chanted "refs you suck" over and over. Then the supposed jersey grab by Rob that never happened.

 

[BigTyrone]

No. Every ref in the country knows UK fans went after one of their own.

Beyond that, it’s an embarrassment to the entire. fan base.

 

[cathouse]

No. Every ref in the country knows UK fans went after one of their own.

Beyond that, it’s an embarrassment to the entire. fan base.

Yet, amazingly, absolutely zero embarrassment from the entire officiating community about their continued putrid performances in big games that matter.

Nada. Nothing. They defend their fellow officials even when they KNOW they blew a call or several calls that negatively impact the outcome of a game.

Officiating is the only profession in the world that I know of that are never held accountable for their performance by anyone.

Talk about privilege and protection. They are at or near the top of the class.

 

[Rockfly78]

I’m shocked at how much you guys know about the refs. When I watch games with my buddy be like knows them by name and can recognize them. Referees are like furniture to me. I don’t know a single one of them. Not even the roofer that sued ksr.

 

[Fox2monk]

I honestly think it has hurt.

The fat ref in the K St game last year that was stink eyeing Cal after every call was Higgns friend.

K St was better than us, but the refs did us no favors.

I think it put more of a target on us and we see that in several close games.

The 9+ minutes of fouling immunity Auburn was given in 2019 to take us to OT is a prime example.

Yup, that was such BS. I am so sick of getting hosed man.

 

[ukfan1622]

Referees that have been open about their dislike for UK still get assigned to our games. Yet our
AD has never made a peep about it.

I'd like to find out which mod edited my post. Maybe we can work out a deal; I'm not usually that succinct.
I see now that some of my imagery might have been too much for some...

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

It worked to ensure he would never officiate another UK game. After 2005, 2011, 2015 and 2017 it was a few games too late, but definitely welcomed by most fans.

But as others have said, his friends also gave him the Referee of the Year award in 2017 for his troubles and in 2018, 2019 and 2023 they ensured UK had NCAA Tournament games (and many other during the season) that were called in a questionable manner.

 

[Allcats08]

I still think about that unc game and the calls. One that always sticks out is the basket interference on bam on a put back dunk. Ball was like 2 ft off the rim

 

[sambowieshin]

We have an Al Qaeda side of our fanbase. I like to keep them at arm's length, but they are useful in certain scenarios.

The Black n Blues

 

[sambowieshin]

I still think about that unc game and the calls. One that always sticks out is the basket interference on bam on a put back dunk. Ball was like 2 ft off the rim

The end of the first half no call when Fox was mugged and the phantom loose ball call on Willis are the ones that told me we were being screwed in broad daylight.

 

[howercat]

Didn't make a difference, won't make a difference. UK has been on the short end of some very bad officials for decades, before Cal, Before Tubby, etc etc. U think 75 title game was gonna be called fair once Wooden announced his retirement? Hell no! Officials screwing UK has gone on for decades.

 

[WildcatforLife1965]

He deserved every bit of harassment and backlash that he got. He deserves to have his business bombed with terrible reviews. We didn’t start the fight with the crooked bastard but we damn sure finished it. He will never call another game we are involved in so it was definitely worth it. You cheat the BBN you suffer their wrath. He did and he did and I’d do it again if the situation warranted it. He cost a lot of folks a lot of money. Turnabout is fair play. Not to mention, he does shitty roof work.

 

[Girthang]

What makes me think they're all in on it is that NONE of them ever seems to think they or anyone else made a bad or biased call. I've met NFL referees, college referees, HS referees and every single one of them, upon becoming officials, think that there is and never has been any corruption involved (despite direct evidence of it occurring).

There is no question the job isn't easy, but there's no way any sane person with ethics and/or integrity intact could look at the strings of blatant blown or invented calls put together in these games to rob various teams of victories over the years AND NOT see it. Even when officials HAVE been fired after rigged games, you won't hear officals say that was the reason for it. It's freaking sociopathic the way that works.

 

[CincinnatiWildcat]

I’m shocked at how much you guys know about the refs. When I watch games with my buddy be like knows them by name and can recognize them. Referees are like furniture to me. I don’t know a single one of them. Not even the roofer that sued ksr.

You notice when they either get into with Cal, or generally when an official makes a call from across the court when another official is directly in front of the play. Like the 5th foul on Edwards Saturday. One official was still under the baseline by the play and the official running down the court the other way at mid court called the foul.

 

[Rockfly78]

You notice when they either get into with Cal, or generally when an official makes a call from across the court when another official is directly in front of the play. Like the 5th foul on Edwards Saturday. One official was still under the baseline by the play and the official running down the court the other way at mid court called the foul.

I’ve coached a lot of ball. I’ll admit it’s always been a big knock on me that I don’t stay on the officials enough. It always takes a pretty gross call to rile me up. Even when it does happen it’s like I don’t see them as people. They are just zebras. Part of the game like the ball and the equipment. I guess I’m weird that way. I know everyone hates a guy named shows. But I couldn’t pick that guy out of a lineup.

 

[BlueSince92]

Kentucky has ALWAYS gotten screwed in Rupp. (And even worse on the road, where at least some getting screwed is expected.)

Cal didn’t cause that. And I’m laughing my ass off at people who think the Higgins thing made things any worse for us. What a weak and emotional reaction.

Things were always worse for us.

That’s how they treated us under TUBBY: The Gentleman’s Gentleman.

Screw your “don’t hit me again” attitudes, some of you.

They can abuse us all they want. They can’t make us think we deserved it.

 

[BlueRunner11]

I don’t know how many of you all have done any officiating. I’m guessing several. I used to do basketball and soccer quite a bit and I can tell you officials are just like anyone else…they’re fans of certain teams, they show bias, play favorites, and they definitely hold grudges. As a coach, making the official your enemy is like making your waiter mad before they go out of sight to “refill your drink.”

 

[pauled]

That wasn't Lindsay that kept making those bad calls Saturday. It was that bald dude Vladimir or something. He had about 4-5 in a row that were totally BS, particularly the one after the crowd chanted "refs you suck" over and over. Then the supposed jersey grab by Rob that never happened.

Let’s add him to the list too! 😂

 

[billCgmx]

What is Cal's tournament record since Higgins stopped officiating our games?

 

[Girthang]

IT ABSOLUTELY HAS HURT US. Officials are super petty and arrogant.

The official from the Kansas State game that made multiple bad calls against us is Gerry Pollard and he specifically mentioned his close friendship with Higgins and he specifically mentioned hating KSR for it. Yet another thing to thank KSR for........

Here is a quote from an article from USA Today in 2020:
"Pollard’s close friend, fellow NCAA veteran official John Higgins, sued Kentucky Sports Radio after it put Higgins’ personal business information on its website. With UK fans fuming following the Wildcats’ 2017 NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina, Higgins became the scapegoat. He lost business, received death threats and feared for his family’s safety.

"Most of us are thick-skinned," Pollard said. "But I don’t care who you are, you deal with enough abuse — on and off the court — it’s going to take a toll on you."

THERE IS NO DOUBT THE HIGGINS THING HAS HURT US AND VERY SPECIFICALLY IS ON THE MIND OF OFFICIALS
Link to article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...aa-tournament-experience-earnings/2866747001/

The only truly thick-skinned official I can remember is TValentine. That dude WAS THE SHOW at every game I saw him call. Didn't care what anyone thought and seemed to call every game equally poorly for every team. But, dang, he WAS the James Brown of officials.

 

[Random UK Fan]

I don’t know how many of you all have done any officiating. I’m guessing several. I used to do basketball and soccer quite a bit and I can tell you officials are just like anyone else…they’re fans of certain teams, they show bias, play favorites, and they definitely hold grudges. As a coach, making the official your enemy is like making your waiter mad before they go out of sight to “refill your drink.”

@IUfanBorden

 

[Random UK Fan]

The only truly thick-skinned official I can remember is TValentine. That dude WAS THE SHOW at every game I saw him call. Didn't care what anyone thought and seemed to call every game equally poorly for every team. But, dang, he WAS the James Brown of officials.

 

[FurdTerguson]

He deserved every bit of harassment and backlash that he got. He deserves to have his business bombed with terrible reviews. We didn’t start the fight with the crooked bastard but we damn sure finished it. He will never call another game we are involved in so it was definitely worth it. You cheat the BBN you suffer their wrath. He did and he did and I’d do it again if the situation warranted it. He cost a lot of folks a lot of money. Turnabout is fair play. Not to mention, he does shitty roof work.

He gave a friend of mine Shingles.

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

What is Cal's tournament record since Higgins stopped officiating our games?

6-4
In 2018, 2019 and 2023 the officiating was still controversial, unfortunately. I was so mad after St. Peter’s in 2022 I didn’t do a deep dive as with those other 3 years mentioned (Jamie Luckie in ‘18, NO fouls called on Auburn in the final 9:17 of regulation in ‘19, Higgins’ friend Gerry Pollard on the whistle in ‘23), but Joe Lindsay was on the whistle for that OT loss (we have lost numerous close games with him).

 

[DreadLox]

Would it be karma if the insane fans were the ultimate cause of Kentucky's swoon? Or merely cosmically comic?

 

[crawfords corner]

Did it work? Yes. He no longer officiates Kentucky basketball games.

 

[billCgmx]

I'm sure Cal loves those fans who continue to scapegoat the officials and make excuses for his incompetence.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

You'll never convince me that Higgins getting an award for "performance" from the NCAA and a coveted assignment to ref the 2016 FF were anything other than direct shots at UK, Calipari and our fans.

 

[IUfanBorden]

@IUfanBorden

Dumb

 

[FilsonCat]

They haven't cleaned up the officiating ranks, so no, it hasn't done much to alleviate poor officiating.

Nope. Allowing officials to own cash intensive front businesses to better help them launder gambling and other proceeds is a bad idea. The NCAA stance on anti-corruption practices is a joke.

I still think the entire deal was overblown. So what, folks left some mean reviews on his "roofing business" social media pages. The entire "death threat" narrative and "investigation" was a giant hoax.

 

[UKWildcatT]

Higgins called a horrible first half and he was called out for it. Even Doug Gottleib said something.

Second half? All on Kentucky. They had the lead and Cow played tight and let Unc come back.

You may not like it, but it’s the truth. Go back and watch.